Well, this certainly explains a lot:

Des Moines, currently the capital of Iowa, takes its name from the nearby Des Moines River, which was christened by the French explorers Marquette and Joliet specifically because they liked how French the name sounded. You see, during their travels, Marquette and Joliet encountered the Peoria tribe and asked them what the name of the river was. The Peoria told them “Moingoana,” which kind of sounds like “moines,” the French word for “monks.” So they took to calling the river “les Moines,” which eventually became “Des Moines,” which eventually became the capital of Iowa.

The problem is, “Moingoana” means “shitface.” And nobody bothered to check up on that, ever, at any point. Considering how the colonization of America went down in general, it isn’t too surprising that deciphering the meaning behind a Native American phrase wasn’t high on anyone’s list of priorities, but you’d think somebody would’ve at least thumbed through a pocket translator before slapping the name on their capital city.