ToponymicaUS City Name Origins
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Spanish

Las Vegas

Nevada (NV)est. 1905pop. 660,929/lahs VAY-gus/

The meaning

“The meadows”

How it got the name

In 1829 the Mexican scout Rafael Rivera came upon artesian springs feeding improbable green grass in the middle of the Mojave and recorded them as Las Vegas — 'the meadows.' The most artificial city in America is named for a natural wetland, and the springs it was named for ran dry in the 1960s.

Former names

  1. Las Vegas Springs (waystation)
  2. Las Vegas