Wekiwa or Wekiva? The Two Spellings of One Spring
The spring and the census say Wekiwa; the river and the subdivisions say Wekiva. A 1999 newspaper column, an 1838 map and a Creek dictionary walk into a suburb — the story of Florida's most local spelling argument.
1 minute read
Every map of this corner of Seminole County contains a quiet argument. The community and its spring are Wekiwa Springs — the spelling the Census Bureau uses and the maps of 1838 and 1849 carried. The river those springs feed, and nearly every subdivision and street sign east of the park, say Wekiva. Same word, same water, two spellings, and locals can tell how long you’ve lived here by which one you reach for.
What the word means
Wekiwa — Uekiwv in the Muscogee (Creek) language — means “a spring.” The popular belief that Wekiva means “flowing water” does not survive the dictionary; researchers with the Apopka Historical Society traced the divergence to the soft Creek w, heard by later mapmakers and developers as a v or b, and fixed in print by subdivision branding. The Orlando Sentinel was already adjudicating the question in 1999 (“You Say ‘Wekiva,’ I Say ‘Wekiwa'”), which makes the argument at least a quarter-century old in print and much older on the ground.
How to use both, correctly
The working rule this magazine follows: Wekiwa for the spring, the state park and the census community; Wekiva for the river, the paddling trail and the neighbourhoods that chose it. It is a small precision, but Wekiwa Springs is a place built on a precise thing — a single spring, at a single temperature — and its name deserves the same care as its water.
Orlando Citizen by email
The weekly edition, in your inbox
One email, every Saturday: the week’s edition of Orlando Citizen — the week’s stories, rankings and winners, gathered in one place. Free, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Related Stories
Editor’s Picks
Spotted an error? Tell us — corrections · How we rank