• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / History / What does Puerto Rico mean in Spanish and How did San Juan get its name?

What does Puerto Rico mean in Spanish and How did San Juan get its name?

June 9, 2020 by Karen Hill

San Juan, Puerto Rico’s capital city, is named for San Juan Bautista, or Saint John the Baptist.

This was the name Christopher Columbus gave the island when he first landed there in 1493. Conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon gave it its present-day name of Puerto Rico, or “Rich Port.”

There is yet another name for Puerto Rico: Borinquen. Meaning “land of the brave lord,” this was what the original Arawak natives called their island. To this day, Borinquen is an informal name for Puerto Rico, and Boricua is another name for a Puerto Rican.

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (1887-1944), son of the U.S. president of the same name, was governor of Puerto Rico from 1929 to 1932.

Related Facts

  • Where Is Puerto Rico Located, How Many People Live There, and Is Puerto Rico Part of the United States?
  • How many Islands does Puerto Rico have and What is the Capital of Puerto Rico?
  • Why isn’t Puerto Rico a state and What would statehood mean for Puerto Rico?
  • When did Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica become Spanish Colonies and What happened to the Natives?
  • Who was the first Puerto Rican elected to govern Puerto Rico in 1946?
  • Why did Spain want to keep Puerto Rico before it was ceded to the U.S.?

Filed Under: History

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « When did the people of Puerto Rico become U.S. citizens?
Next Post: Why do Puerto Ricans celebrate El Grito de Lares and When? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy