List of place names of Spanish origin in the United States

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

As a result of former Spanish and, later, Mexican sovereignty over lands that are now part of the United States, there are many places in the country, mostly in the southwest, with names of Spanish origin. Florida and Louisiana also were at times under Spanish control, as were California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and portions of western Colorado. There are also several places in the United States with Spanish names as a result of other factors. Some of these names have retained archaic Spanish spellings.

Authenticity and origin

Not all Spanish place name etymologies in the United States originate from the Spanish colonial period or from the Spanish language. Spanish-sounding place names are classified into four categories:

States

  • Arizona Either from árida zona, meaning "Arid Zone", or from a Spanish word of Basque origin meaning "The Good Oak"
  • California (from the name of a fictional island country in Las sergas de Esplandián, a popular Spanish chivalric romance by Garci Rodríguez de Mon talvo)
  • Colorado (meaning "red [colored]", "ruddy" or "colored" in masculine form. Named after Colorado City; now called Old Colorado City.)
  • flowers are abundant, from other Christian holidays called Pascua in Spanish, such as Christmas and Epiphany
    .
  • Montana from Latinized Spanish meaning "mountainous", also in Spanish "montaña" is the name of "mountain"
  • Nevada comes from the Spanish Sierra Nevada (which is also a mountain range in Spain), meaning snowy mountain range (Nevada is the Spanish feminine form of snowy).
  • New Mexico, named after the Valley of Mexico.
  • Oregon comes from "Orejón", "big ear" or could come from "Aragón".
  • Texas, from the Spanish name for the Caddo, derived from the word táyshaʼ meaning 'friend'.[1]
  • Ute People by early explorers to the area. The Utes refer to themselves as Noochee, which in Spanish was changed to Yuta.[2]

Territories

Counties and parishes

Populated cities

Cities

A

B

C

D

E

F

  • Ferdinand VII of Spain
    ).
  • San Antonio
    's Spanish settler Francisco Flores de Abrego (early settler)
  • Ash Tree
    ")
  • Ash Tree
    ")
  • Frisco, Texas (named in honor of the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway)

G

H

I

J

K

  • Key West, Florida
    (Spanish Cayo Hueso, "Bone Key")

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

Y

Z

Native American reservations

  • Cimarron Lake, a reservoir in
    maroon
    )
  • San Felipe Pueblo
    , New Mexico
  • San Ildefonso Pueblo
    , New Mexico (partly in Santa Fe County)
  • Sandia Pueblo, New Mexico (partly in Bernalillo County)
  • Santa Ana Pueblo
    , New Mexico
  • Santa Clara Pueblo
    , New Mexico (partly in Rio Arriba and Santa Fe Counties)
  • Santo Domingo Pueblo
    (partly in Santa Fe County)
  • San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Arizona
  • Santa Clara Indian Reservation, New Mexico

Census-designated places (CDP) and unincorporated communities

Districts and boroughs

Neighborhoods

Towns and townships

Villages

Former settlements

Historic places (still standing)

Forts

Missions

Presidios

Ranchos and Spanish lands

Islands

Natural places

Bays and inlets

Forest

Mountains, hills, rock, ranges, caves and volcanos

Regions

This is not an exhaustive list.

Rivers and lakes

Springs and waterfalls

Valleys

Wilderness, deserts and dunes

Wildlife refuges and protected areas

Parks

Peninsulas

Other

See also

References

  1. .
  2. ^ Carvajal, Guillermo (January 13, 2014). El Desconocido Origen Español del Nombre de Ocho Estados de Norteamérica [The unknown Spanish origin of the name of eight States of North America].ABC. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  3. . Retrieved 2011-11-12.
  4. ^ Walter Romig, Michigan Place Names, p. 86
  5. ^ Walter Romig, Michigan Place Names, p. 187

External links