Whonnock Metro Vancouver Regional District, British Columbia

Community - An unincorporated populated place, generally with a population of 50 or more, and having a recognized central area that might contain a post office, store and/or community hall, etc, intended for the use of the general public in the region. W. of junction of Fraser and Stave Rivers, New Westminster Land District

Mapped Location

Whonnock: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.

 

Information

General information on Whonnock

  • Feature Type: Place

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Whonnock

A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named

Name Description
Whonnock Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Whonnock

References to Whonnock that document the origin of its place name

Mis-spelled "Whommock" in George H. Melvin's "The Post Offices of British Columbia 1858-1970."

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office  |  Province of British Columbia

The name comes from honnock (humpback salmon), the only kind of salmon ascending Whonnock Creek.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office  |  Province of British Columbia

From the Halkomelem word meaning 'place where there are (always) humpback salmon.'

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
Akrigg, Helen B. and Akrigg, G.P.V; "1001 British Columbia Place Names"; Discovery Press, Vancouver 1969, 1970, 1973.  |  Province of British Columbia

An angelized spelling of the Downriver Hakomelem placename phonetically rendered by linguist Brent D. Galloway as xwhoneqw : “place where there are (always) humpback salmon.” The official use of the spelling with double “n” started in 1885 with the naming of a local post office “…after the Indian village in the vicinity.”

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
Braches, Fred; "Whonnock’s Post Office"; Whonnock Notes No.12, 2005.  |  Province of British Columbia

 

Metro Vancouver Regional District

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2023-09-26