Why was Puerto Rico named Puerto Rico?

Answer 1

San Juan county got its name from San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was named after the latest colony in the US.

Answer 2

Christopher Columbus discovered Puerto Rico and it was claimed for Spain even though the inhabitants (the Taino Indians) had already established a centuries-long civilization on the island they called Borinken. The Spanish named the island San Juan (Saint John). The major settlement and port on the north coast was named Puerto Rico. In time, cartographers (map makers) switched the names around and the island became known as Puerto Rico (Rich Port) and the city became San Juan.

Answer 3

Puerto Rico was named by the Taino people, Boriken, (Borinquen), When the spaniards arrived to the island they named it San Juan Bautista(Saint John the Baptist), and the capital, Puerto Rico, then later on the names got switched, the island Puerto Rico, and the capital, San Juan Bautista, San Juan for short.

Answer 4

The native Tainos called it Boriken.

Christopher Columbus called it San Juan Bautista.

The sailors called it Rich Port which means Puerto Rico in Spanish and the name Stuck.

The Constitution calls it Estado Libre Asociado which is its Official name which when translated to English is Free Associated State but is translated into English Officially as Commonwealth.

It is often called La Isla del Encanto in Spanish or the Island of Enchantment in English.

Answer 5

Christopher Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista (Saint John the Baptist) and called its capitol Ciudad de Puerto Rico (Rich Port City). Eventually traders and other visitors came to call the entire island Puerto Rico and came to call the capital and main port San Juan.
Puerto Rico means RICH PORT. and RICH PORT means a port of a lot of boats.

Answer 6

Puerto Rico's original name is Borinquen (in Spanish) Boriken, meaning Land of the Brave Lord in the language of the indeginous inhabitants, the Taino people. Cristopher Columbus named the island San Juan Bautista or St. John the Baptist. The capital city was called Puerto Rico or Rich Port. At some point the names were reversed on documents sent to Spain; thus the island was named Puerto Rico and the capital was named San Juan.

Answer 7

On September 25, 1493, Christopher Columbus set sail on his second voyage with 17 ships and 1,200 to 1,500 men from Cádiz. On November 19, 1493 he landed on the island, naming it San Juan Bautistain honor of Saint John the Baptist. The first settlement, Caparra, was founded on August 8, 1508. The following year, the settlement was abandoned in favor of a nearby islet on the coast, named Puerto Rico (Rich Port), which had a suitable harbor. During the 1520s, the island took the name of Puerto Rico while the port became San Juan.

Answer 8

Columbus
I think Dominican Republic got its name by Columbus

Answer 9

Puerto Rico's nickname, "Borinquen", is its original name, given by the Taino, who were its first inhabitants.