Spelling of "Athabascan" through time

There has been much debate about how to spell the word Athabascan. Michael Krauss points out that the origin of the word is well-known, but four different spellings have been used (read his article here). The ATHAPBASCKAN-L listerv acknowledges this variation by combining the four spellings into one. Within Alaska the "b" spelling has predominated of late, with continuing debate regarding "c" versus "k".

Now thanks to Google Books it is possible to trace the four spellings through history. If we enter the four different spellings we get the above graph of frequency of mentions in published books (in English). This reveals a surge in the p-c spelling Athapascan in the early 20th century, followed by a spike in the p-k spelling Athapaskan around 1980. More recently the frequencies of b-k, p-k, and b-c spellings converge, with the p-c spelling falling out of favor. Bottom line: there are many ways to spell this word.

Try it yourself.