Etymology of California

The toponym California is currently used by three North American subnational entities – the U.S. state of California and the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur – and by many other places in other parts of the world. Historically, the name was also used by the Mexican province of Alta California, and the Gulf of California is a common alternative appellation for the Sea of Cortés.

The name is suggested to be of Spanish, Latin or Native American origin, but all of these are disputed, and considerable controversy exists surrounding the etymology of the name. The following paragraphs illustrate some of the extant claims.

California originally referred to the entire region composed of the Mexican peninsula now known as Baja California and land in the current U.S. states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Wyoming, known as Alta California. In these early times, the boundaries of the Sea of Cortés and the Pacific coast were only partially explored and California was shown on early maps as an island.

Song of Roland

The name California already existed prior to the European discovery and exploration of the area. The first appearance of the name was in the Song of Roland, an 11th century epic poem from Brittany, which refers to the defeat suffered August 15, 778 in the retreat of Charlemagne's army at the hands of the Saracens in Battle of Roncevaux Pass in the Pyrenees. On line 2924 of the poem, which is in verse number CCIX (209), the word Califerne is used, without indicating its meaning. One possibility is that it refers to the domain of the Caliph, i.e. the Muslim world.[1]

Morz est mis nies, ki tant me fist cunquere

Encuntre mei revelerunt li Seisne,

E Hungre e Bugre e tante gent averse,

Romain, Puillain et tuit icil de Palerne

E cil d'Affrike e cil de Califerne.

My nephew's dead, who won for me such realms!

Against me then the Saxon will rebel,

Hungar, Bulgar, and many hostile men,

Romain, Puillain, all those are in Palerne,

And in Affrike, and those in Califerne;

– Song of Roland, Verse CCIX (i.e. 209; lines 2920–2924), 11th c.

Las Sergas de Esplandián

In the minds of European explorers, California existed as an idea before it was ever discovered. The earliest known mention of the idea of California was in the 1510 romance novel Las Sergas de Esplandián by Spanish author García Ordóñez de Montalvo. The book described the Island of California as being west of the Indies, "very close to the side of the Terrestrial Paradise; and it is peopled by black women, without any man among them, for they live in the manner of Amazons."

This notion of a place of women without men echoes a passage from the diary of Christopher Columbus's first voyage:

"Dixéronle los indios que por aquella vía hallaría la isla de Matinino, que diz que era poblada de mugeres sin hombres, lo cual el almirante mucho quisiera por llevar diz que a los Reyes cinco o seis d'ellas... mas diz que era cierto que las avía y que cierto tiempo del año venían los hombres a ellas de la dicha isla de Carib, que diz que qu'estava d'ellas diez o doze leguas, y si parían niño enbiábanlo a la isla de los hombres, y si niña, dexávanla consigo"

"The Indians said that along that route one would find the island of Matinino, which they said was populated by women without men, of whom the admiral wanted very much to bring five or six to speak to the king and queen… but they said that it was certain that they (the women) had them (men) and that at a certain time of the year men came to [the women] of this island called Carib, which they said was ten or twelve leagues away, and if they gave birth to a son they sent it to the island of the men, and if a girl, they kept her with them."

The lure of an earthly paradise, as well as the search for the fabled Strait of Anián, helped motivate Hernán Cortés, following his conquest of Mexico, to send several expeditions in the late 1530s and early 1540s to the west coast of New Spain. The first expedition reached the Gulf of California and Baja California, and proved that California was in fact a peninsula. Nevertheless, the idea that California was an island persisted for well over a century and was included on many maps. The Spanish gave the name "California" to the peninsula and to the lands north, including both Baja California and Alta California, the region that became the present-day U.S. state.

"Sabed que a la diestra mano de las Indias existe una isla llamada California muy cerca de un costado del Paraíso Terrenal; y estaba poblada por mujeres negras, sin que existiera allí un hombre, pues vivían a la manera de las amazonas. Eran de bellos y robustos cuerpos, fogoso valor y gran fuerza. Su isla era la más fuerte de todo el mundo, con sus escarpados farallones y sus pétreas costas. Sus armas eran todas de oro y del mismo metal eran los arneses de las bestias salvajes que ellas acostumbraban domar para montarlas, porque en toda la isla no había otro metal que el oro.

"Know that on the right hand from the Indies exists an island called California very close to Earthly Paradise; and it was populated by black women, without any man existing there, because they lived in the way of the Amazons. They had beautiful and robust bodies, and were brave and very strong. Their island was the strongest of the World, with its cliffs and rocky shores. Their weapons were golden and so were the harnesses of the wild beasts that they were accustomed to domesticated and ride, because there was no other metal in the island than gold.

— Las Sergas de Esplandián, (novela de caballería)

by García Ordóñez de Montalvo.

Published in Seville in 1510.

Since then, that unknown Amazon's Island came to be known as California.

The legendary island, fourth carta de relación of Hernán Cortés

In his fourth carta de relación (a letter to Spain narrating events of the conquest), datelined Mexico (meaning what is now Mexico City) 15 October, 1524, Hernán Cortés wrote to the king of Spain about certain information about a legendary island, information that had been brought to him by the captain who had achieved the conquest of Colima.

Y así mismo me trajo relación de los señores de la provincia de Cihuatlán, que se afirman mucho de haber toda una isla poblada de mujeres, sin varón ninguno, y que en ciertos tiempos van de la tierra firme hombres que con ellas han acceso… y si paren mujeres, las guardan; y si hombres, los echan de su compañia; y que esta isla está a diez jornadas de esta provincia; y que muchos dellos han ido allá y la han visto. Dícenme asimismo que es muy rica en perlas y oro; yo trabajaré en teniendo aparejo de saber la verdad y hacer de ello larga relación a vuestra majestad.

And in the same manner I was brought a story from the men of the province of Cihuatlán, which reinforced completely that there is an island populated by women, without a single male, and at certain times men come from the mainland, who are granted access by the women… and if they give birth to women [sic], they keep them; and if men, they throw them out of their company; and that this island is ten days journey from this province; and that many of them have gone there and have seen it. They tell me also that it is very rich in pearls and gold; I will prepare myself to know the truth and tell it at length to your majesty.

— Hernán Cortés. Fourth carta de relación.

With those beautiful stories of Amazons, the name California was born.

The abandoned lands receive the name of California and Hernán Cortés enters history as their discoverer.

An enemy of Cortés, whom a writer of the time cites as "Alarcón", making a clear allusion to Las Sergas de Esplandián, a chivalric novel that was very popular at the time, facetiously named the inhospitable lands as California to hurt Cortés for having failed in his third journey of exploration, when Cortés tried unsuccessfully to establish a colony in La Paz on the recently discovered Baja California Peninsula. It was stated on a royal charter that this land belonged to Cortés.

Today the name California is applied to the Baja California Peninsula, the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortés), the U.S. State of California, and the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur.

Other origins

Some suggest that the word California may signify that a place is "hot as an oven" (cali > hot, fornia > oven). It may be derived from caliente fornalia, Spanish for hot furnace, or it may come from calida fornax, Latin for hot climate. Some say that the name comes from the arabic calif, meaning a land presided over by a Caliph.

Another possible source may be kali forno, an indigenous phrase meaning "high mountains". There is no agreement among scholars.

References

This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, which was accessed in the version of March 20, 2005.

The original text and English translation for the song of Roland follows Charles Scott Moncrief (London, 1919), as reproduced at Orbis Latinus; many variant texts exist.