California's Spanish Place Names

Discover the fascinating stories behind California's Spanish place names—like Paseo Cerveza (Beer Boulevard) and Alameda de las Pulgas (Mall of the Fleas)—in this comprehensive study of romantic-sounding but sometimes misleadingly named locales.

Husband-and-wife team Barbara and Rudy Marinacci delve into the history of more than 1,500 Spanish words and place names, which are the most widely used and recognizable names for California’s historical and geographic features.

Everyone knows “The City of Angels,” an adaptation of Los Angeles’s English translation. But readers will discover that Los Angeles, or “the angels,” is actually an abbreviation of El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles, meaning, “The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels.”

California’s Spanish Place Names: What They Mean and the History They Reveal examines the place-naming process, and why certain names have “stuck” while others have either changed or vanished completely. Part guidebook, part history lesson and part Spanish tutorial, this book is a fun and informative one-of-a-kind look at the popularity of California’s Spanish place names. It’s a must-have for any Californian or visitor to the Golden State. Readers will want one to keep at home for quick reference as well as one to keep in the car for those spontaneous road trips through the magnificent valleys, villages and vistas in the great state of California.