Oregon Geographic Names Board
Source: https://ohs.org/about-us/affiliates-and-partners/oregon-geographic-names-board
Archived: 2026-04-23 15:01
Oregon Geographic Names Board
Home
About Us
Affiliates and Partners
Oregon Geographic Names Board
Purpose of the Geographic Names Board
The purpose of the OGNB is to supervise the naming of geographic features within the state of Oregon and to make recommendations to the USBGN, which has final approval authority. The Board also serves in an advisory capacity to federal, State, and local government by reviewing administrative name proposals.
The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is the custodian of the OGNB's correspondence and records and provides the OGNB with limited administrative support. The OGNB operates under its own bylaws, and the Executive Director of the OHS serves as permanent secretary and as one of the board members. The OGNB is comprised of 25 board members, 24 of whom serve without compensation and are appointed to three-year terms by the secretary. The president and vice-president are elected to two-year terms by its membership, and the president appoints committees as needed. The board members represent all of the state's geographic regions and are selected for their knowledge of the state's geography and history. Advisors from State and federal land management and mapping agencies and the private sector serve as consultants to the Board.
2025 OGNB Board Members and Advisors
Renaming Derogatory Geographic Names
In June 2025, the Oregon Legislature directed the OGNB through
HB 3532
to embark on a process to identify and rename geographic features determined to be offensive, defined as “
insulting and derogatory to any of Oregon’s nine federally recognized Indian tribes or to any race, nationality, or ethnicity
.”
The bill requires the board’s executive secretary — who is also executive director of OHS — to compile a list of geographic features that bear offensive names and to engage with Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes, communities, landowners, and interested parties to prepare proposals to rename those features. If no proposals are received from these communities after one year, then the executive secretary and the OGNB shall prepare proposals for renaming, to be completed by June 2028.
List of Derogatory Geographic Names in Oregon
Proposing a Name
Geographic naming in Oregon is a public process by which anyone can submit a formal proposal for consideration. The OGNB’s Interim Committee...
Learn More
Domestic Geographic Names Proposal Form
This form is to propose a new name or name, spelling, or application change for a geographic feature. Proponents
should carefully review the...
Download Now (PDF)
Board Meetings and Name Proposals
Information about upcoming OGNB meetings, along with agendas and minutes of past meetings are listed here, as well as documentation for all proposals under consideration.
Learn More
News Coverage
Discover the latest news about geographic naming in Oregon and throughout the United States.
Learn More
Board Business
2023 – 24 OGNB and USBGN Activity
2022 – 23 OGNB and USBGN Decisions
2021 – 22 OGNB and USBGN Activity
2019 – 20 OGNB and USBGN Decisions
2019 OGNB and USBGN Decisions
2018 – 19 OGNB and USBGN Decisions
2018 OGNB and USBGN decisions
2018 USBGN-Oregon Proposals List
2015 – 16 OGNB and USBGN Decisions
2016 OGNB and USBGN Decisions (Updated)
Contacting the Oregon Geographic Names Board
Current OGNB officers are Bruce Fisher, President and Interim Committee Co-Chair, Doug Decker, Vice President and Interim Committee Co-Chair, and Kerry Tymchuck, Secretary. Past President, Phil Cogswell.
To reach the board please contact:
Bruce Fisher (Board President)
Doug Decker (Vice President and Interim Committee Co-Chair)
ognb@ohs.org
The postal mailing address is:
Oregon Geographic Names Board
Oregon Historical Society
1200 S.W. Park Avenue
Portland, OR 97205
For more information on place names in Oregon, see Lewis L. McArthur's
Oregon Geographic Names, 7th Edition
, published by the Oregon Historical Society Press.
The Oregon Geographic Names Board: One Hundred Years of Toponymic Nomenclature
Champ Clark Vaughan tells the history of a little known organization under the umbrella of the Oregon Historical Society: the Oregon Geographic Names Board (OGNB). Founded in 1908, the OGNB, in conjunction with federal agencies, has debated and approved both pre-existing and new geographic place-names within the state of Oregon. As a member of the OGNB, Vaughan has special insight into this organization, allowing him...
Free Download
“The Importance of Memory and Place: A Narrative of Oregon Geographic Names with Lewis L. McArthur”
A mainstay of Oregon history since 1928, Oregon Geographic Names now documents the stories behind over six thousand of the state’s place-names. Lewis A. “Tam” McArthur published the book’s first edition, and his son, Lewis L. McArthur, told stories in a 2006 interview about how his father researched, talked, and wrote letters to determine where the names originated. Historian Erin McCullugh Peneva introduces the...
Free Download
Related Content
Which Takes Longer: Building a Volcano or Naming It?
Learn why naming volcanic features at the Newberry...
Learn More
Links to Native Past and Present: Ten Creeks on Marys Peak Have New Names
Oregon Geographic Names Board President, Bruce Fisher,...
Learn More
Renaming Ben Johnson Mountain
Oregon Geographic Names Board President, Bruce Fisher,...
Learn More
Council of Geographic Names Authorities
The Council of Geographic Names Authorities (COGNA) is...
Learn More
Home
About Us
Affiliates and Partners
Oregon Geographic Names Board
Purpose of the Geographic Names Board
The purpose of the OGNB is to supervise the naming of geographic features within the state of Oregon and to make recommendations to the USBGN, which has final approval authority. The Board also serves in an advisory capacity to federal, State, and local government by reviewing administrative name proposals.
The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is the custodian of the OGNB's correspondence and records and provides the OGNB with limited administrative support. The OGNB operates under its own bylaws, and the Executive Director of the OHS serves as permanent secretary and as one of the board members. The OGNB is comprised of 25 board members, 24 of whom serve without compensation and are appointed to three-year terms by the secretary. The president and vice-president are elected to two-year terms by its membership, and the president appoints committees as needed. The board members represent all of the state's geographic regions and are selected for their knowledge of the state's geography and history. Advisors from State and federal land management and mapping agencies and the private sector serve as consultants to the Board.
2025 OGNB Board Members and Advisors
Renaming Derogatory Geographic Names
In June 2025, the Oregon Legislature directed the OGNB through
HB 3532
to embark on a process to identify and rename geographic features determined to be offensive, defined as “
insulting and derogatory to any of Oregon’s nine federally recognized Indian tribes or to any race, nationality, or ethnicity
.”
The bill requires the board’s executive secretary — who is also executive director of OHS — to compile a list of geographic features that bear offensive names and to engage with Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes, communities, landowners, and interested parties to prepare proposals to rename those features. If no proposals are received from these communities after one year, then the executive secretary and the OGNB shall prepare proposals for renaming, to be completed by June 2028.
List of Derogatory Geographic Names in Oregon
Proposing a Name
Geographic naming in Oregon is a public process by which anyone can submit a formal proposal for consideration. The OGNB’s Interim Committee...
Learn More
Domestic Geographic Names Proposal Form
This form is to propose a new name or name, spelling, or application change for a geographic feature. Proponents
should carefully review the...
Download Now (PDF)
Board Meetings and Name Proposals
Information about upcoming OGNB meetings, along with agendas and minutes of past meetings are listed here, as well as documentation for all proposals under consideration.
Learn More
News Coverage
Discover the latest news about geographic naming in Oregon and throughout the United States.
Learn More
Board Business
2023 – 24 OGNB and USBGN Activity
2022 – 23 OGNB and USBGN Decisions
2021 – 22 OGNB and USBGN Activity
2019 – 20 OGNB and USBGN Decisions
2019 OGNB and USBGN Decisions
2018 – 19 OGNB and USBGN Decisions
2018 OGNB and USBGN decisions
2018 USBGN-Oregon Proposals List
2015 – 16 OGNB and USBGN Decisions
2016 OGNB and USBGN Decisions (Updated)
Contacting the Oregon Geographic Names Board
Current OGNB officers are Bruce Fisher, President and Interim Committee Co-Chair, Doug Decker, Vice President and Interim Committee Co-Chair, and Kerry Tymchuck, Secretary. Past President, Phil Cogswell.
To reach the board please contact:
Bruce Fisher (Board President)
Doug Decker (Vice President and Interim Committee Co-Chair)
ognb@ohs.org
The postal mailing address is:
Oregon Geographic Names Board
Oregon Historical Society
1200 S.W. Park Avenue
Portland, OR 97205
For more information on place names in Oregon, see Lewis L. McArthur's
Oregon Geographic Names, 7th Edition
, published by the Oregon Historical Society Press.
The Oregon Geographic Names Board: One Hundred Years of Toponymic Nomenclature
Champ Clark Vaughan tells the history of a little known organization under the umbrella of the Oregon Historical Society: the Oregon Geographic Names Board (OGNB). Founded in 1908, the OGNB, in conjunction with federal agencies, has debated and approved both pre-existing and new geographic place-names within the state of Oregon. As a member of the OGNB, Vaughan has special insight into this organization, allowing him...
Free Download
“The Importance of Memory and Place: A Narrative of Oregon Geographic Names with Lewis L. McArthur”
A mainstay of Oregon history since 1928, Oregon Geographic Names now documents the stories behind over six thousand of the state’s place-names. Lewis A. “Tam” McArthur published the book’s first edition, and his son, Lewis L. McArthur, told stories in a 2006 interview about how his father researched, talked, and wrote letters to determine where the names originated. Historian Erin McCullugh Peneva introduces the...
Free Download
Related Content
Which Takes Longer: Building a Volcano or Naming It?
Learn why naming volcanic features at the Newberry...
Learn More
Links to Native Past and Present: Ten Creeks on Marys Peak Have New Names
Oregon Geographic Names Board President, Bruce Fisher,...
Learn More
Renaming Ben Johnson Mountain
Oregon Geographic Names Board President, Bruce Fisher,...
Learn More
Council of Geographic Names Authorities
The Council of Geographic Names Authorities (COGNA) is...
Learn More