From my earliest memories I can recall naming things,one of my many quirks. It may have started with a bantam hen that was given to me,or maybe the parakeet I received for my 5th birthday. It has progressed over the years to the point where I name vehicles and even some inanimate objects. But names you hear everyday?how often do you think about them and how they came about?
Today we will look at the name California,the most common explanation of how California got its name is from a 1510 romance novel by Spanish author Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo titled Las Sergos de Esplandian (The Adventures of Esplandian). In the novel a mythical island is described whose only inhabitants are beautiful Amazon warriors ruled by Queen Calafia. Since the only metal found on the land is gold,they had tools and weapons made of gold. The name of the island was California.
A second possibility is an epic poem written in Old French from around 1140-1170. The poem mentions a place name Califerne.
The third and least romantic is from the Catalan words cal and forno which mean hot and oven,for some reason I favor this one over the other two.
Today we will look at the name California,the most common explanation of how California got its name is from a 1510 romance novel by Spanish author Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo titled Las Sergos de Esplandian (The Adventures of Esplandian). In the novel a mythical island is described whose only inhabitants are beautiful Amazon warriors ruled by Queen Calafia. Since the only metal found on the land is gold,they had tools and weapons made of gold. The name of the island was California.
A second possibility is an epic poem written in Old French from around 1140-1170. The poem mentions a place name Califerne.
The third and least romantic is from the Catalan words cal and forno which mean hot and oven,for some reason I favor this one over the other two.
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