State Name Origin: California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is the most
populous U.S. state, home to one out of eight Americans (38 million people), and is the
third largest state by area (after Alaska and Texas). California is bordered by Oregon to
the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and the Mexican State of Baja
California to the south.

The name California comes from a mythical Spanish island ruled by a queen called
Califia that was featured in a Spanish romance ("Las Sergas de Esplandian") written by
Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo in 1510. The Spanish explorers originally thought that
California was an island.

The name "California" came from a knightly romance book that was published in 1510.
It was about an island paradise near the Indies where beautiful Queen Califia ruled over
a country of beautiful black Amazons with lots of pearls and gold. Men were only
allowed there one day a year to help perpetuate the race. Cortez's men thought they
found the island in 1535, because they found pearls. Later, Francisco de Ulloa found
that the island was really a peninsula.

While there is some consensus that the area was named for the fictional island,
scholars have also suggested that the name comes from the Catalan words calor ("hot")
and forn ("oven") or from a Native America phrase, kali forno ("high hill").

California Nicknames
The state legislature made "The Golden State" the official nickname of California in
1968.

 The Golden State

California's long association with gold make this a natural nickname for the state. From
the naming of the state in the 16th century to the California Gold Rush of 1848 and the
fields of yellow poppies (official state flower) that bloom in the springtime, gold, in one
form or another, has been intertwined with the history and development of California.
By 1867 the state has been known as The Golden State, which became the state's
official nickname in 1968 (appearing also on license plates).

It is particularly appropriate since California's modern development can be traced back

to the discovery of gold in 1848 and fields of golden poppies can be seen each spring
throughout the state. The Golden State Museum is also the name of a new museum
slated to open in late 1998 at the California State Archives in Sacramento. The
museum's exhibits will bring to life the momentous events of California's history through
a series of innovative, interpretive exhibits.

 El Dorado State
California was also sometimes known as El Dorado because of the Gold Rush of 1848.

 Grape State
Because of its wine connections, The Grape State. The Grape State is based in the
business of agriculture.

 Land of Milk and Honey

A nickname promoting California as a land of opportunity with connections to "The
Promised Land" of the Bible.

Other origin theories

Several alternate theories have been proposed as possible origins of the word
California, but they all have been dismissed, or at least determined by historians to be
less compelling than the novel, Las Sergas de Esplandián. Some of the most studied
alternate theories include the following.

 Calida Fornax
This term could derive from the Old Spanish Calit Fornay, an alteration of the Latin
Calida Fornax, meaning hot furnace.[14]

This theory may explain why the circa 1650 map of the Island of California has the
name as two words, "Cali Fornia."
The word California may signify that it is a place that is hot in the manner of a lime kiln;
both Spanish and Catalan have similar words taken from the Latin roots calcis (lime)
and fornax (oven).

 Kali forno
Another suggested source is kali forno, an indigenous phrase meaning "high
mountains". However, the name "California" was printed in Montalvo's book before
Spanish explorers spoke with Native Americans.

 Calahorra
Another possible source for California's name may be Calahorra in Spain.