Editing California (section)

==Etymology==
{{Main|Etymology of California|Island of California}}
[[File:Detail of Queen Califia in the "California's Name" mural (Lucile Lloyd, 1937) (cropped).gif|thumb|left|upright|The word "California" and its namesake ruler, [[Calafia|Queen Calafia]], originate in the 1510 epic ''[[Las Sergas de Esplandián]]'', written by [[Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo]].]]

The Spaniards gave the name {{lang|es|Las Californias}} to the [[Baja California peninsula|peninsula of Baja California]] (in modern-day Mexico). As Spanish explorers and settlers moved north and inland, the region known as ''California'', or ''Las Californias'', grew. Eventually it included lands north of the peninsula, [[Alta California]], part of which became the present-day U.S. state of California.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dornsife.usc.edu/magazine/how-california-got-its-name/#:~:text=The%20Spaniards%20gave%20the%20name,and%20Alta%20(Upper)%20California.|title=How California (Probably) Got Its Name|date=December 20, 2024 }}</ref>

A 2017 state legislative document states, "Numerous theories exist as to the origin and meaning of the word 'California,{{'"}} and that all anyone knows is the name was added to a map by 1541 "presumably by a Spanish navigator."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/16/us/why-is-california-called-california.html|title=Why Is California Called California?|last=Karlamangla|first= Soumya|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 16, 2024|access-date=April 17, 2024}}</ref><ref> Damian Bacich, "How Did California Get its Name? You Might be Surprised," ''California Frontier Project'' (2020) [https://www.californiafrontier.net/name-california/ online]</ref>

The name is most likely derived from the mythical island of California in the fictional story of [[Calafia|Queen Calafia]], as recorded in a 1510 work ''[[Las sergas de Esplandián|The Adventures of Esplandián]]'' by [[Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo]].<ref name="Gudde-2010">{{Cite book |last1=Gudde |first1=Erwin G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ibMwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR9 |title=California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names |last2=Bright |first2=William |date=2010 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-26619-3 |pages=59–60 |orig-date=2004}}</ref> Queen Calafia's kingdom was said to be a remote land rich in gold and pearls, inhabited by beautiful Black women who wore gold armor and lived like [[Amazons]], as well as [[griffin]]s and other strange beasts.<ref name="Gudde-2010" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Putnam |first=Ruth |title=California: The name |date=1917 |publisher=University of California |editor-last=Priestley |editor-first=Herbert Ingram |location=Berkeley |pages=356–361 |chapter=Appendix A: Etymology of the Word 'California': Surmises and Usage |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924008278347}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vogeley |first=Nancy |date=April 20, 2001 |title=How Chivalry Formed the Myth of California |journal=Modern Language Quarterly |volume=62 |issue=2 |pages=165–188 |doi=10.1215/00267929-62-2-165 |s2cid=163100071 |issn = 0026-7929}}</ref>

Abbreviations of the state's name include [[List of U.S. state abbreviations|CA, Cal., Cali, Calif., Califas]], and [[ISO 3166|US-CA]].