| Etymology is the study or the science of words, | | | | means "hot furnace" in Spanish and it later, no one |
| their history, their origins, their sources, the time | | | | knows exactly when, it transformed to |
| periods in which they made it into a specific | | | | Calenforna and then to California. |
| language or a set of languages and under which | | | | The first known reference to a place called |
| circumstances as well as the evolvement and | | | | California was made in romance novel called "La |
| transformation of their meanings. Demography, on | | | | Sergas de Esplandian" that was written and |
| the other hand, is the study or science of the | | | | published in 1510 by a Spanish author named |
| very important statistical information about | | | | Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo. |
| communities, populations, societies or nations. | | | | The etymological explanation of the name of |
| Demography is that part of human history which | | | | Sonoma County is based on translations from the |
| deals most specifically with mathematical accounts | | | | tribal languages of the Coast Miwok and the Pomo |
| of births, adoptions, deaths, diseases, immigration | | | | Indians. Those languages are very similar and their |
| and emigration, marriages, divorces, and so on. | | | | word "sonoma" means "valley of the moon" or |
| Due to the obvious fact that it is human | | | | "many moons" in English. According to ancient |
| population which uses language to name objects, | | | | legends of these native Indian tribes, this territory |
| activities, situations and everything else and | | | | is where the moon chose its permanent nesting. |
| because each individual society take on or | | | | The first known records where Sonoma was |
| formulates words based on its life experiences, | | | | mentioned in writing were within the pages of log |
| philosophies, traditions and cultures, I contend that | | | | books of baptisms and they date back to 1816. |
| etymology and demography go hand in hand. | | | | The first translated version, "Valley of the Moon," |
| It is my intention to introduce you to the | | | | appeared in a correspondence written by General |
| etymology of California and Sonoma within the | | | | Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo to the Ligislature of the |
| context of the demographical markers of the | | | | State of California in 1850. Jack London, the |
| territory which we know today as Sonoma | | | | famous American writer, brought the English |
| County of Northern California. Let us begin with | | | | translation of Sonoma to public awareness when |
| the larger entity - California. The etymology of | | | | he first published his well received novel "The |
| "california" has two very distinct theoretical | | | | Valley of the Moon" in 1913. |
| presumptions, both of which stem from the | | | | Another school of etymologists came up with a |
| Spanish language spoken by the region's occupying | | | | different theory based on the fact that there are |
| military and missionary forces of Mexico and | | | | two very commonly occurring suffixes in the |
| Spain. One presumption maintains that California | | | | native languages of the Sonoma County and they |
| was named by Herman Contes, a Spanish | | | | are: "tso" which means "earth" and "noma" which |
| conqueror of Mexico, after a queen named | | | | means "village.' Put the two together and you end |
| Caliphia who reigned over a legendary island | | | | up with "tsonoma" and its English translation, |
| mentioned in ancient Greek Mythology. The | | | | "earth village." |
| second and the more credible presumption | | | | Well, there you have it; the etymology and |
| asserts that California was named by early | | | | demography of Sonoma County as part of the |
| Spanish settlers who reacted to the region's | | | | State of California in a nutshell. |
| intense heat and called it Caliente Fornalla which | | | | |