History of Muntinlupa

The name “Muntinlupa” came from at least three versions. First, its association with the
thin topsoil in the area. Second, residents, purportedly replying to a question by Spaniards
in the 16th century what is the name of their place were, said “Monte sa Lupa” –
apparently mistaking the question for what card game they were playing. Third, the
topographical nature of the area, where the term Monte or mountain was expanded to
Muntinlupa or mountain land.

Some documents suggest that the first and third versions of Muntinlupa and Monte sa
Lupa respectively eventually became Muntinlupa either through misspelling or
mispronounciation. But no record to date a firmly establish which of the of the three
versions is historically correct.

Muntinlupa is an old term, which refers to a barangay (which means a smaller branch of a
city or a municipality; often reffered to as a county) now known as the Población. As
early as 1800, the Catholic priest Father Joaquin de Zuñiga chronicled it as la población
que sigue se llama Muntinlupa