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Spanish Place Names In The USA

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This list is only a small selection and is naturally very far from being complete. A complete list would of course be enormous. However, I would greatly welcome any suggestions for additional entries (you can EMail me using the link at the bottom of this page).

Many other place names in the USA and Canada come from Native American cultures or from other nationalities of immigrants such as British, French, Dutch, German and Russian.

G. Martinez of Montrose, California emailed me to point out that "New World" (North, Central, and South American) Spanish is different from European Spanish, especially the official Castilian of Spain, in terms of speech, spelling and grammar, in the same way as American English differs considerably from its British counterpart.

Spanish	English	Comments
Alameda	Poplar grove
Alamo	Poplar (the tree)
Alamogordo	Fat cottonwood	Alamogordo, New Mexico was named for the cottonwood trees in the area.
Alcatraz	From alcatraces (pelican)	Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay was originally named Isla de los Alcatraces (Isle of the Pelicans) after the large pelican population there.
Alta, Alto	High, tall
Amarillo	Yellow	Amarillo, Texas was named after the colour of the clay banks of a nearby stream.
Amistad	Friendship
Angeles	Angels
Animas	Soul or spirit
Antonio	Anthony
Baja	Drop or fall
Blanco	White
Boca Raton	Rat's mouth	Boca Raton, Florida was named after the nearby jagged rocks on the ocean shore, though to resemble a rat's mouth.
Bonita	Pretty
Brea	Tar
Buena	Good
Buena Vista	Good view
Cabo	Cape
Cajon	Box, chest or drawer	Possibly referring to a box canyon. Not to be confused with Cajun.
Caliente	Hot
California	-	The name California was first given to the Baja California peninsula by the Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes in the early sixteenth century and was later applied to more northern areas. The word was derived from the name of an imaginary island in a popular Spanish romance of the time.
Cañada	Dell, a small isolated valley	My thanks to G. Martinez of Montrose, California for this translation. With a tilde (~) over the n, Cañada is a Spanish word. The name of the country of Canada, without a tilde, is not Spanish - it comes from the Iroquioan Indian word "kanata" meaning "village" or "community".
Canaveral	Reeds, or a sugar-cane plantation	Spanish spelling is cañaveral.
Carlos	Charles
Camino	Road
Casa	House
Cerrito	Little hill
Chico	Little stream
Chino	Chinese
Christo	Christ
Ciudad	City, town
Colorado	Red coloured
Costa Mesa	Coastal plateau
Cruces	Crosses	The name of Las Cruces, New Mexico refers to the graves of a group of travellers who were massacred by Apache Indians in the area in 1830.
Cruz	Cross
Ciudad	City or town
D', De, Del	Of
Duro	Hard	From the common root of "durable", presumably
Durango	Water town	From the Basque word "urango". (I realise that the Basque language is totally separate from Spanish, but this entry seemed worth including here.)
El	The
El Camino Alto	The High Road	As in the High Road To Taos, New Mexico. There may be other examples.
El Camino Del Rio	The River Road	As in the road alongside the Rio Grande between Lajitas and Presidio, Texas - west of Big Bend National Park. There may be other examples.
El Camino Real	The Royal Road or The King's Highway	See separate article.
Escondido	Hidden	Probably referring to a hidden valley.
Estados Unidos	United States
Este	East
Fe	Faith
Florida	Flowery	The state of Florida was named by the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon from the Spanish word for "flowery", possibly due to the vegetation or because he visited Florida in Easter week which in Spanish is called "Pascua florida".
Fresno	Ash tree	Fresno, California was named after the white ash trees in the area.
Gatos	Cats	Los Gatos, California was named after the wildcats that were once populous in the area.
Gordo	Fat
Grande	Large, tall, great, grand
Habra	Opening	La Habra, California is named after a nearby mountain pass (an opening).
Hermosa	Beautiful
Isabel	Elizabeth
Juan	John
Junta	Meeting
La	The
Las	The
Las Vegas	The Meadows	The name of Las Vegas, Nevada refers to grassland seen along spring-fed desert streams by early Spanish explorers of the area.
Llano	Plain
Llano Estacado	Staked Plain
Lobo	Wolf
Los	The
Los Angeles	The Angels
Madre	Mother
Manteca	See comment	"Rebecca" sent me this comment: I'm a Mantecan (Manteca, California). The "snootier" Manteca residents will tell you our town was named from mantequilla (butter) as a result of the Portugese dairy trade that was prevalent in this area. Long-time Mantecans, however, will tell you the truth: "manteca" means "lard". This was a pig farming town in addition to a dairy town, and yes, it was named LARD! So attractive of a name, yes?
Marcos	Mark
Maria	Mary
Merced	Mercy
Mesa	Table, table-land, flat-topped hill
Miguel	Michael
Milpitas	Little cornfields
Mirada	View	La Mirada, California is named for the panoramic view from the hills where it is situated.
Miramar	Look at the sea
Modesto	Modest	The name of Modesto, California is a tribute to William C. Ralston, a prominent California financier who declined an offer to have the town named after him.
Montana	Mountain
Monticello	Hill or small mountain	Monticello is the name of the house built by Thomas Jefferson in Virginia. It is also the name of various towns in the USA. The word is Italian, not Spanish.
Negro	Black
Nevada	Snow, snowfall, snow-covered
Nogales	Walnut trees
Norte	North
Nuevo	New
Obispo	Bishop	As in San Luis Obispo, California
Oro	Gold
Pais	Country
Palo	Stick, pole, tree	Palo Alto, California (high tree) is named after an ancient redwood tree at its northern entrance. Palo Duro Canyon, Texas (hard tree) is named for the cedar trees in the area.
Palomar	Dovecot
Paso	Mountain pass
Placer	Sandbank (?)	The prefix Placer in town names such as Placerville comes from the word meaning a superficial deposit from which gold or some other mineral can be washed - an indication that such activity took place in the area. My English dictionary says that placer is the Spanish word for sandbank and also suggests a possible connection with the Spanish word plaza, meaning place. However, my Spanish - English dictionary quotes the meaning of placer as pleasure, and plaza as square, market, job or position.
Plano	Flat	My thanks to Karen Strand for this translation.
Plata	Silver
Presidio	Fort or Fortress	Many presidios were built by the Spanish when they ruled the southwest of the USA and Mexico. Some of these have been preserved, for example the Presidios of Monterey, Santa Barbara and San Francisco.
Pueblo	Town, village
Puente	Bridge
Puerto	Port
Punta	Point
Quinta	Country house
Rancho	Ranch or farm	In traditional Spanish the word rancho means dining-room, according to my Spanish-English dictionary. In Latin American Spanish it means a ranch or farm.
Real	Royal	Pronounced "ray-al"
Redondo	Round	Redondo Beach, California derived its name from the way its streets were originally laid out, in a semi-circle.
Rio	River
Rosa	Rose
Salida	Exit
Salinas	Salt marshes	Salinas, California derives its name from the numerous salt marshes along the Salinas River.
San	Saint	Many places were named by Spanish explorers after saints because the explorers discovered them or founded a mission or town there on the relevant saint's day.
San Antonio	Saint Anthony
San Carlos	Saint Charles
San Diego	Saint Didacus
San Francisco	Saint Francis	Is it just a coincidence that Sir Francis Drake explored this area?
San Jose	Saint Joseph
San Juan	Saint John
San Leandro	Saint Leander
San Marcos	Saint Mark
San Mateo	Saint Matthew? (I'm guessing here)
Sangre	Blood
Sangre de Christo	Blood of Christ	As in the Sangre de Christo Mountains in Colorado.
Santa	Saint
Sausalito	-	Derived from the Spanish for "little willow".
Sierra	Mountain Range
Socorro	Help, aid, assistance
Sur	South
Tejon	Badger	Not to be confused with Teton.
Tiburon	Shark
Tierrasanta	Saintly land, or holy ground	A neighbourhood of San Diego, California.
Tonto	Stupid
Vaca	Cow, beef
Valle	Valley
Vallecito	Small valley
Vegas	Meadows	There is a shopping mall in Las Vegas, Nevada, called The Meadows
Ventura	Happiness, luck
Verde	Green
Vista	View

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Most recently modified 28-Apr-06