The Ojibwe called this lake "kitchigami," meaning "great lake." When French missionaries first began spreading out through the Great Lakes in the mid-1600s, they referred to the eastern lakes by the names of the Indian nations inhabiting them. But in 1648 Father Paul Ragueneau reported that at the extreme west of the region was another lake --  "Ce Lac superieur s'estend au Nord-oüest" ("this superior Lake extends toward the Northwest"). This is the first use of the name Lake Superior, which quickly became the most common one found in the earliest records of Wisconsin history. Fr. Ragineau did not mean it was bigger or more important than the other lakes; no one knew in 1648 how big it might be. Rather, his language implied it was higher or elevated above the others; view more information elsewhere at wisconsinhistory.org.

View pictures relating to Lake Superior at Wisconsin Historical Images.

Learn More

Dictionary of Wisconsin History

Explore more than 1,600 people, places and events in Wisconsin history.

[Source: Thwaites, Reuben Gold, ed. Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents. (Cleveland, OH: Burrows Brothers, 1901), vol. 33: 149; Milwaukee Sentinel, Aug. 29, 1939.]