There are two opposing schools of belief regarding the derivation of the name. The term "hex" with occult connotations may derive from the Pennsylvanian German word "hex" (German "Hexe", Dutch "Heks"), meaning "witch". However, the term "hex sign" was not used until the 20th century, after 1924 when Wallace Nutting's book "Pennsylvania Beautiful" was published. Nutting, who was not a Pennsylvania native, interviewed farmers about their distinctive barn decoration. Before this time there was no standardized term and many Pennsylvania German farmers simply called the signs "blume" or "sterne" (meaning flowers or stars). However one farmer used the term "Hexefoos" in his description. The term became popular with Pennsylvania Germans themselves during the blossoming tourist trade of southeastern Pennsylvania.