I moved to Denver from Rock Island, Ill. back in 2018. Prior that that time, I never had heard the term “welcome in” ever in my life. I also spent 10 years living in Los Angeles and never heard it there either.
In fact, I first heard “Welcome in” just several months ago. One of the more by-the-book employees at 7-Eleven next door to my building on Quebec Street began screaming it every time someone walked through the door.
“Welcome in!” she’d bark simultaneously while ringing up orders. I marveled at her friendliness and proficiency and thought “Welcome in” sounded rather clever. However, I wondered what ever happened to plain old “Welcome.”
A bastardization of ‘Willkommen?’
It occurred to me that in German, “Willkommen” means, “Welcome.” So, is “Welcome In” just a bastardization of “Willkommen?”
Although “Welcome in” seems fairly new in Colorado, Redditors already were talking about it seven years ago. “I live in Colorado and have only started hearing this in the past year,” posted Raspberrry_Alone. “For a year only,” she posted, “our Gen Z store manager then yesterday a young fellow at another store (said it). I thought it was a generational expression.”