1971年，来自《电子新闻》的记者唐·赫夫勒(Don Hoefler)依据半导体中的主要成分硅命名此地，硅谷由此得名。
Electronic News
Mr. Hoefler published a weekly newsletter, "Microelectronics News," for 14 years. The publication was called a gossip sheet by some but others said it had the first precise news of personnel moves and other trends and innovations in the industry.
Don C. Hoefler (c. 1922 – April 15, 1986) was an American journalist who coined the term "Silicon Valley". His friend Ralph Vaerst suggested the name "Silicon Valley" in a series of articles entitled "Silicon Valley, USA" in the weekly trade newspaper Electronic News starting on January 11, 1971.
From the mid 1970s until his death in 1986, Hoefler published a newsletter called "Microelectronics News," which was the definitive "tabloid" of the emerging American semiconductor industry. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History has most issues of the newsletter available for viewing on the internet.
硅谷这个词最早是由Don Hoefler在1971年创造的。它从1971年的1月11日开始被用于《每周商业》报纸电子新闻的一系列文章的题目-美国硅谷。之所以名字当中有一个“硅”字，是因为当地的企业多数是与由高纯度的硅生产的半导体及电脑相关的。而谷则是从圣塔克拉拉谷中得到的而后来东湾两岸地区的加入也使硅谷迅速的发展起来。 在开始的十几年时间，由于记者的拼写错误它都被误称为“硅胶谷”，硅谷在当时还没有融入到美国文化当中。硅胶，一种广泛用于隆胸和堵露等等作用的物质。
对于“硅谷现象”，美国记者唐·霍伊夫勒(Don Hoefler)于1971年在《电子新闻报》上撰写了一系列文章，做了最初的描述：“共同的祖先使这个半导体的共同体成为一个紧密联系的团体。无论到了哪里，以前在仙童半导体公司工作过的人都会对他们的同事感到亲切，并怀有敬意。妻子们互相熟稔，亲密无间。男人们在同一家饭店吃饭，到同一家酒吧喝酒，参加同样的聚会。尽管在生意场上他们是强有力的竞争对手，但走出办公室，他们还是亲密的朋友。”霍伊夫勒将人才成长的原因归结为“家族文化”。
Don C. Hoefler-Coined the Term 'Silicon Valley' 
Electronic News
Electronic NewsApril 1986 - San Francisco Chronicle, Obituaries
Don C. Hoefler, a journalist credited with coining the term "Silicon Valley" for the burgeoning semiconductor industry in the Santa Clara Valley, died Tuesday [April 15] after a lengthy illness. He was 63.
Electronic NewsMr. Hoefler published a weekly newsletter, "Microelectronics News," for 14 years. The publication was called a gossip sheet by some but others said it had the first precise news of personnel moves and other trends and innovations in the industry.
He coined the term "Silicon Valley" in a 1971 article for Electronic News, another weekly trade paper, and later said, "How was I to know that the term would be adopted industrywide and become generic worldwide?"
Before starting his own newsletter, Mr. Hoefler was a reporter for Fairchild Publications, McGraw-Hill, RCA Corp. and Fairchild Semiconductor.
He suffered a stroke last month and was hospitalized at Fort Miley Veterans Hospital in San Francisco, where he died. The hospital said he donated his body to the University of California at San Francisco Medical School. There will be no services. Contributions can be sent to First Southern Baptist Church, 800 Grand Road, South San Francisco.
Mr. Hoefler is survived by his wife, Rachel, of South San Francisco.
http://smithsonianchips.si.edu/schreiner/hoefler.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Hoefler
