How Did The Places You Know Get Their Names? -- What's In A Name? - - Fun Facts About Names From Around The Emerald City

Seattle has been a diverse city from its beginning. The names of streets, suburbs and bodies of water come from many different cultures - from Native Americans to Europeans and from patriots to fur traders. Here are a few fun facts about the names of places in the Seattle area.

On Nov. 13, 1851, there were 12 adults and 12 children in the Arthur Denny party. They were the first to settle in Seattle. They settled on the southwestern shore of Elliott Bay that had once been named Point Roberts. They called their new home New York. Later they added the Native American word "Alki," meaning "by and by." Before long, New York-Alki was shortened to just Alki.

In the early 1880s Bellevue was given a French name meaning "beautiful view." It is believed to have been given that name because of the view of the Olympic Mountains that some of the Bellevue community enjoys.

Puget Sound was once called Whulge by Native Americans. Today it carries the name of Peter Puget. Puget was the second lieutenant in Capt. George Vancouver's expedition in 1792 to explore the large saltwater inlet. Vancouver actually named it Puget's Sound.

Yesler Way was once known as "Skid Road" because loggers used the muddy street to skid logs from the top of the hillside down to the sawmills near Elliott Bay. Miners and gold diggers camped along Skid Road back then. The name Yesler was given in honor of Henry L. Yesler. He was mayor of Seattle in 1874-'75 and again in 1885-'86. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Did you hear the one? Q. What waterfowl makes the best boxer? A. Duck!

Write to Wordy: What makes you cry? Sad movies? Saying goodbye? Tell us using 100 words or fewer. Send essays to My Words, c/o The Seattle Times, P.O. Box 1138, Seattle, WA 98111. The deadline is Nov. 11.

Your Words: We asked readers to tell us their funniest pet story. Here is what Nick Alexander, 9, of Bothell had to say: "I used to have a bird named Buddy and I have a dog named Taffy. Buddy and Taffy would play together. One day Taffy was barking at Buddy and Buddy jumped up and down and flew all around. Taffy is a cocker spaniel, and I forget what kind of bird Buddy was."

Washington Word Scramble: Unscramble the words below to find the names of seven cities found in Washington state. When you are done, take the first letter of each city to spell out the name of a bonus city. Hint: The bonus city is the largest city in Washington.

1. ESONAPK 2. TVEEETR 3. GAOANL 4. MAATOC 5. IKTAUWL 6. EYLCA 7. MULENAWC

Answers: 1. Spokane; 2. Everett; 3. Algona; 4. Tacoma; 5. Tukwila; 6. Lacey; 7. Enumclaw. The bonus city is Seattle.

Read On! To learn more about the state of Washington and other 49 states, check out "Wish You Were Here: Emily's Guide to the 50 States."