Why is there an 'h' at the end of Pittsburgh?

HAVE YOU EVER PRONOUNCED IT?!?!?!?!?!

Put the 'H' in Pittsburgh

Here is a bit of interesting history from the City of Pittsburgh (explaining the 'h'):

Keeping the H in Pittsburgh. It's more than just a catchy slogan for PittsburghHeritage.com - it's part of our heritage.

In 1890, the United States Board on Geographic Names standardized the names of all cities and towns in our country. One of the new standards forced the final H to be dropped from burgh. In 1911, after protests from citizens wishing to preserve the historic spelling, the US Board reversed its earlier decision, restoring the H in Pittsburgh - now a part of our heritage.

Because of this interesting (and somewhat obscure) piece of history, we have adopted "Keeping the H in Pittsburgh" as our official slogan. Just as the "h" was kept in Pittsburgh, our hope is that we can help to preserve and keep our heritage in the Pittsburgh region.

Here are more opinions and answers from other FAQ Farmers:

• The word burgh is a Scottish variant of the word borough, which means a chartered town. E.g., the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. Note that it is pronounced Edinburough despite the variant spelling.

• In the original letter that General Forbes sent to his commanders upon capturing the French Garrison at Ft. Duquesne in 1758 (1759?) he declared the new settlement to be called "Pittsbourgh" in honor of British Prime Minister at the time and the chief contributor to the early expansion west for the colonists William Pitt, also Scotts had much to do with it I believe Forbes was Scottish and I know for a fact that Scottish Highlanders were a chief part of the military company that won what is now Pittsburgh for the British and thus the Americans. For a time in the late 19th century the U.S. Census Bureau standardized all burg's and burgh's by forcing Pittsburgh to drop the H, Senator Oliver and a petition drive finally made the official spelling back to the H ending in the early 20th century though unofficially many in the area defied the new policy and continued to spell it with an "H". The first mention ever of the area in the English language has always had an H at the end.

First answer by Chris. Last edit by Gotbyu. Contributor trust: 0 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 127 [recommend question]