The name Snoqualmie, which is attached to a town, a river and a 268-foot waterfall in the Valley, comes from a local Native American Indian tribe. The name is derived from the Indian word pronounced “sdoh-kwahlb-bluh,” which includes the word for moon, “sdoh-kwahlb.” The moon is the legendary life source of the tribe.

The first official use of the name was in 1889 when the town of Snoqualmie Falls, later shortened to Snoqualmie, was platted by civil engineer Charles Baker.