Why a North Dakota city is named after a spirit, not a devil

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The name Devils Lake is a linguistic misunderstanding of a sacred Dakota term. While settlers interpreted the name as a reference to evil, the original phrase described the lake's high salinity and the frequent, haunting mirages seen across its surface. The city's history is as fluid as its namesake.

The city of Devils Lake, North Dakota, sits near a body of water that has long defined the region's geography and identity. The name itself is a calque—a literal translation—of the Dakota phrase mni wak’áŋ. In the Dakota language, mni translates to water, while wak’áŋ refers to a pure or sacred source, often interpreted as spirit. European-American settlers, unfamiliar with Dakota philosophy, misconstrued this as a reference to the Christian devil. They associated the 'bad' aspect of the name with the lake's high salinity, which renders the water undrinkable, and the 'spirit' portion with the mirages that frequently appear across the water.

The lake is a closed-basin system, meaning it lacks a natural outlet, leading to dramatic fluctuations in its depth and surface area over time. In 1940, the lake reached a historic low of only two feet deep. However, beginning in the 1990s, a period of unprecedented rainfall in North Dakota caused the water levels to rise significantly. This expansion has been so severe that the lake's surface area has quadrupled, forcing the destruction or relocation of more than 400 houses in the surrounding area.

The city itself was established in the late 19th century, with the first house built by a Euro-American settler in 1882. Originally named Creelsburg and later Creel City after its surveyor, Lieutenant Heber M. Creel, the town was incorporated as the City of Devils Lake in 1884. Today, the city serves as the county seat of Ramsey County. Its climate is characterized by extreme temperature shifts, including a notable cold wave in 1936 where temperatures averaged −21 °F for five weeks, highlighting the harsh environmental conditions that have shaped life in this unique North Dakota community.

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