Editing Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey (section)

== History of the name ==
The meaning of the name Ho-Ho-Kus has been disputed. From the official history on the borough's website, the most likely origin is a contraction of the [[Lenape|Delaware Indian]] term "Mah-Ho-Ho-Kus" (or "Mehokhokus"), meaning "the red cedar".<ref name=Thinking/><ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=16 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed September 1, 2015.</ref>

Other meanings have been suggested over the years and are listed on the borough's website, including: a Lenape word for running water; a cleft in the rock, or under the rock, or hollow rock; the word "hohokes", signifying the whistle of the wind against the bark of trees; the Chihohokies Indians, whose chief lived here; the Dutch ''Hoog Akers'' for "high acorns" or ''Hoge Aukers'' for "high oaks"; the Lenape word ''hoccus'', meaning "fox", or ''woakus'', meaning "gray fox"; or that the "Ho" part means joy or spirit, and the rest of the name comes from "hohokes", referring to a type of tree bark.<ref>[https://www.hhkborough.com/about About], Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus. Accessed July 3, 2022.</ref><ref>[[Henry Gannett|Gannett, Henry]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA156 ''The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States''], p. 156. [[United States Government Printing Office]], 1905. Accessed September 1, 2015.</ref>

=== Ho-Ho-Kus versus Hohokus ===
A constant source of confusion has been the manner in which the borough's name has been styled, with each syllable capitalized and separated by hyphens. The confusion is only exacerbated by the existence of [[Hohokus Township, New Jersey|Hohokus Township (now Mahwah)]], which comprised the area of present-day Ho-Ho-Kus and other surrounding communities, yet was styled without the multiple capitalization or the hyphens.

The name "Ho-Ho-Kus" was used explicitly in the resolution requesting a change of name passed by the Borough Council on October 12, 1908, and submitted to the [[Secretary of State of New Jersey]] requesting "That the Borough now known as the Borough of Orvil be hereafter known as the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus..."

A few theories have been offered for the hyphens and capitalization. One is that it was intended to differentiate between the borough and Hohokus Township, which was formed on April 9, 1849, and continued to exist until November 7, 1944, when a [[referendum]] was passed changing the name to present-day [[Mahwah, New Jersey|Mahwah]].<ref name=Story/><ref name=MC1940/> Another explanation was that it was meant to avoid confusion by postal clerks with mail being sent to [[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]].

While efforts had been made in the ensuing decades to change the name or to alter the way in which the name of the borough is capitalized and punctuated, the borough remains as "Ho-Ho-Kus."<ref>''Background of Ho-Ho-Kus History'' pp. 149–150.</ref>