Editorial: Newport, Laguna, Pismo ... and Hueneme?

When it came to naming their settlements, the founders of Ventura County’s villages were largely deferential to the region’s native American heritage and agricultural roots. Chumash words gave us “Simi,” “Ojai” and “Hueneme.” Oxnard was named for beet-processing brothers. Camarillo for a ranching family. In the Conejo Valley, apparently, they just counted trees.

No one thought to call attention to perhaps the region’s most prominent feature, its 42 miles of Pacific coastline. That was conceded to other coastal counties. San Diego took Oceanside and Del Mar; Orange claimed Newport and Huntington beaches; San Luis Obispo grabbed Pismo Beach. In Monterey they sought to be as direct as possible about proximity to the ocean with Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Where’s that leave a potential tourist looking for a California beach vacation? Probably steered somewhere else on Expedia’s search engine.

In November, the 11,026 registered voters in Port Hueneme will decide whether it’s time to address this oversight. The City Council has agreed to put on the ballot and let voters decide whether to change the city’s name to “Hueneme Beach.”

The idea of changing a city name to call attention to the coastline is not entirely new in Ventura County. Back in 2010, an image consultant hired by the city suggested that Oxnard add a geographic feature and call itself “Oxnard Shores.” That idea never went far.

It wasn’t the first time a name change for Oxnard had been considered. The name “Channel Islands” had been tossed about before.

In the matter of names, Ventura has long had the best of both worlds. Its official name — the one you’ll see on city letterhead and in government documents — remains the original one with the melodic sound, San Buenaventura. But on maps, highway signs, all common uses, the shorter moniker is used.

The argument for changing the city’s name from “Port Hueneme” to “Hueneme Beach” is pretty much the same one that image consultant for Oxnard championed more than a decade ago: adding a coastal feature to its name will immediately make the city sound more appealing and fun.

That may seem superficial, at least until testing an individual reaction to the names of other locales. Think of it: Doesn’t a weekend getaway to Morro Bay sound much more appealing than a trip to just “Morro”?

It’s not just tourists that advocates of a name change hope to lure. Those seeking to attract new businesses believe the idea of having a “Hueneme Beach” address would elicit a more favorable response. One investor went so far as to suggest to the council that the existing name was a deal-breaker to an artificial intelligence company he is working with.

The same logic would also apply to attracting potential out-of-town homebuyers to the area, perhaps especially to those looking for a second home. Telling your co-workers in Palmdale that you’re headed to your weekend place in “Hueneme Beach” might trigger a sense of jealousy that the prospect of a weekend in “Port Hueneme” would not.

For the locals, there is a sense of history to consider. The port predates the city by a longshot; a wharf there opened in 1871 and the deep-water Port of Hueneme was dedicated in 1940. The city wasn’t incorporated until 1948.

In many ways, the city is defined by its port. Naval Base Ventura County accounts for about half of the city’s land mass, and the commercial port takes up another 5%. The rest of the city covers just 2.5 square miles.

Whichever name they decide, the verdict is now in the hands of voters. Some may not like the idea, while others may think it’s grand. Still others might wonder whether the proposed change goes far enough.

After all, it isn’t the word “port” that anyone ever had trouble pronouncing.