Des Moines

Meanings

1. The capital city of Iowa, United States and the county seat of Polk County, named after the river.
2. Eight townships in Iowa, in eight different counties.
3. A township in Jackson County, Minnesota, named after the river.
4. A village in Union County, New Mexico.
5. A city in King County, Washington.
6. A river in Minnesota and Iowa, United States, that flows from southern Minnesota into the Mississippi.

Etymology

From the French name of the nearby Rivière des Moines, which superficially means "river of the monks" and has traditionally been interpreted as a reference to the Trappist monks who settled along it. "It is more likely, however, to be a name of Native American origin, recorded in a 1673 text as moinguena", a Miami designation of the Moingona. The precise interpretation is uncertain; see Moingona.