List of U.S. place names of Spanish origin

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As a consequence of former Spanish and, later, Mexican sovereignty over lands that are now part of the United States, there are many places in the country, especially in the southwest, with Spanish names.

Contents

[edit] Authenticity and origin

Not all Spanish placenames in the United States originate from the Spanish colonial period, and in fact, not all Spanish-sounding placenames in the country are really Spanish. Spanish-sounding placenames can be classified into three categories:

  • Colonial: Spanish names that were given in the Spanish colonial period, or adaptations of names originally given in the colonial period to the same place or to nearby related places. Example: Los Angeles, California, shortened from the original Spanish name of the settlement, El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula.
  • Postcolonial: Spanish placenames that have no history of being used during the colonial period for the place in question or for nearby related places. Example: Lake Buena Vista, Florida, named in 1969 after a street in Burbank, California.
  • Fake: placenames that look like they're Spanish, but are in fact grammatically incorrect modern inventions given by people who do not speak or understand Spanish, but who wanted a Spanish-sounding name. Example: Sierra Vista, Arizona, named in 1956, with the intended meaning of "mountain view." Idiomatic Spanish names with that meaning would be "Mirasierra" or "Miramonte." This is not to be confused with grammatically incorrect adaptations of colonial names, where a name that was used in the Spanish colonial period is adapted to English without regard for Spanish grammar.

[edit] States

[edit] Territories

[edit] Counties and parishes

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.

[edit] Cities, towns and villages

This is not an exhaustive list.

La Mesa, California ("the table")

[edit] Regions

This is not an exhaustive list.

[edit] Islands

[edit] Streets and roads

This is not an exhaustive list.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Moreno's Dictionary of Spanish-Named California Cities and Towns

Spanish and Indian Place Names of California (Sanchez)

Publications of the Historical Society of California (1918)

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