Etymology of Pittsburgh - Early History and Spellings

Early History and Spellings

Pittsburgh (originally Fort Duquesne) was captured by British forces during the Seven Years War. The earliest known reference to the new name of the settlement is in a letter sent from General John Forbes to William Pitt the Elder, dated 27 November 1758, notifying Pitt that his name had been given to the place. In that letter, the spelling is given as "Pittsbourgh." As a Scotsman, General Forbes probably pronounced the name /ˈpɪtsbᵊrə/ (PITS-brə or PITS-bə-rə), similar to the pronunciation of "Edinburgh" as a Scotsman would say it: i/ˈɛdɪnbᵊrə/ (ED-in-brə or ED-in-bə-rə).

The first recorded reference using the current spelling is found on a survey map made for the Penn family in 1769. In the city charter, granted on March 18, 1816, the Pittsburgh spelling is used on the original document, but due to an apparent printing error, the Pittsburg spelling is found on official copies of the document printed at the time. Even before the name of the city was temporarily changed to Pittsburg in 1897, that spelling variant was well-attested. For example, the image to the right—published in 1857—is captioned "Bridge over the Monongahela river, Pittsburg, Penn."