ToponymicaUS City Name Origins
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Spanish

San Francisco

California (CA)est. 1776pop. 808,988/san fran-SIS-koh/

The meaning

“Saint Francis”

How it got the name

The Spanish mission founded in 1776 was dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi. The nearby trading settlement, however, was called Yerba Buena — 'good herb,' for the fragrant mint that grew on the dunes. In 1847, with the Gold Rush about to break, the American alcalde renamed the town San Francisco specifically so it would share the name of the already-famous bay and not lose traffic to a rival development.

Former names

  1. Yerba Buena
  2. San Francisco