Editing Colma, California (section)

==Etymology==
The most commonly proposed origin of the name "Colma" is the [[Ohlone]] word mean "springs" or "many springs".<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/21/us/and-just-how-are-things-in-colma-calif-awfully-quiet-night-and-day.html|title=And Just How Are Things in Colma, Calif.? Awfully Quiet, Night and Day |work= New York Times|date=April 21, 1996|access-date=July 21, 2013}}</ref><ref name="City history"/><ref name="Colma Historical Association">[https://colmahistory.com/2018-No.120%20Jan-Feb-Mar%20Newsletter.pdf Colma Historical Association - Newsletter #120]</ref>

There are several other proposed origins of Colma. Erwin Gudde's California Place Names states seven possible sources of the town's being called Colma:<ref>{{cite book| author=Gudde, Erwin G. |title= California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names|edition= 4th |publisher= University of California Press|page= 86}}</ref> William T. Coleman (a local landowner), Thomas Coleman (a local resident), misspelling of [[Colmar]] in France, misspelling of [[Colima]] in Mexico, a re-spelling of an ancient [[Uralic languages|Uralic]] word meaning death, a reference to [[James Macpherson]]'s ''Songs of Selma'', and two Ohlone possibilities, one meaning "moon" and one meaning "springs".

Before 1872, Colma was designated as "Station" or "[[School House Station]]", the name of its post office in 1869.