Prior to tricky politics and the centralization of government, native Filipinos had a much simpler way of naming places. Streets, districts, and cities were named after the place’s unique characteristics. For instance, in Bulacan, there are plenty of cotton (bulak) trees and in Manggahan, there are a lot of mango (mangga) trees.
We've compiled a few of the many fascinating origins of the old street and city names in the Philippines. Note that this list doesn’t include the story behind eponymous streets (named after people) because we are reserving that for another article.
Which ones of these are you aware of?
Parañaque City
According to the tale, in the early years of Spanish colonization, a group of Spanish soldiers was riding a calesa. One of them told the coachman, “para aqui!” or in English, “Stop. I’ll alight here.” The coachman, a Filipino, did not understand what he said so he went on. The Spaniards, a bit frustrated because of the lost in translation, kept shouting “para aniya aqui!” The coachman shared this to the locals and they all thought that the Spaniards were calling the place “para anya ake”.
Baclaran
Baclaran is named after baclad / baklad (fish traps), which are plentiful in that side of Manila Bay. Up to this day, you’ll see those baclads when you drive through Cavitex.
Maynila
Maynila gets its name from Nila, a flowering mangrove plant that grew plenty on its bay.
Quiapo
Quiapo got its name from a water lily called “kiapo.” Kiapo grew abundantly in the canals of the district that we now know as Quiapo.
Intramuros
Intramuros is Latin for "within the walls". Also called the Walled City, this was the seat of government when the Philippines was under the Spanish colonial empire.
Binondo
The name is originally “binondoc” or mountainous, referring to the place’s hilly terrain.
Malacañan
There are many stories behind the name of the official residence and work place of the President of the Philippines.
One anecdote denotes that it comes from the Tagalog phrase “May lakan diyan,” or in English, “there’s a nobleman in there.”
Another story says that Malacañan is derived from Tagalog word malakanan, which means “of the right side” (of the river) where the palace is located.
Makati
Here’s another lost in translation story. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi was scouting the newly conquered land. He made a stopover in a barangay near the Pasig River. When he arrived, the tide was receding already. He asked the datu what’s the name of the place. The datu can’t understand nor speak Spanish. Legaspi heard the datu tell the natives, “makati na, kumakati na” (English: The tide is receding.) He took his word as the name of the place.
Mandaluyong
Mandaluyong means "a place of waves." Again this is in reference to Pasig river that runs beside it.
Malabon
Malabong got its name from the phrase “maraming labong.” Labong is an edible bamboo shoot, usually cooked in gata.
Pateros
Pateros means "duck-raisers." It is still a popular trade in the area.
Taguig
The original settlers of Taguig were farmers. People referred to the place as pook ng mga “taga-giik.” Giik means to thresh the grain.
Cavite
Cavite is originally "Kawit" or hook in Tagalog. In old Spanish maps, Cavite was depicted as a hook-shaped land.
Vigan
Like Quiapo and Maynila, Vigan was named after its most abundant flora: bigaa, a coarse plant with ornate leaves.
Pampanga
Pampang is Tagalog term for river bank.
Baguio
Baguio got its name from Ibaloi word "bigyiw"– a moss-like plant that grew plenty in the area.
Boracay
There are different stories on the origin of the name Boracay. One says that it’s derived from “borac,” the local word for white cotton. It could have also been from the word “bocay,” which means white.
Palawan
There’s also no official etymology for the name Palawan, but these three are the most popular:
Chinese: "Pa-Lao-Yu" meaning "Land of Beautiful Harbors."
Indian: "Palawans" meaning "Territory"
Spanish: "Paragua" meaning umbrella—the shape of the island
Tagaytay
“Tagaytay” is Tagalog for ridge
Subic
The town's early name is "Hubek,” which means head of a plow
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Do you know of more stories behind the names of Philippine places? Can you add more to this list?
