Truth in City Names! (Modesto)

[Western87]

Originally Posted by stillkit

Yeah, and I doubt if Los Angeles ever had many angels. Strangely, though, Orange county has a whole team of 'em!

yeah but LA was named after the virgin mary, remember the original name was El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula which translates into The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the river of Porzuincola. the city's name is basically describing who the virgin mary is, the queen of the angels on the porzuincola river

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Western87

yeah but LA was named after the virgin mary, remember the original name was El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula which translates into The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the river of Porzuincola. the city's name is basically describing who the virgin mary is, the queen of the angels on the porzuincola river

Imagine trying to fit that on a Scantron.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Western87

the river of Porzuincola.

So this is the Los Angeles River?

I think I like the old name. "Los Angeles River" reminds me of dead cats, antifreeze, soiled diapers, and old shopping carts jammed in the weeds.

[Western87]

Originally Posted by Charles

So this is the Los Angeles River?

I think I like the old name. "Los Angeles River" reminds me of dead cats, antifreeze, soiled diapers, and old shopping carts jammed in the weeds.

yep that was the original spanish name, not sure what natives called it before the spanish arrived

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Western87

yep that was the original spanish name, not sure what natives called it before the spanish arrived

Desert!

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by Western87

yeah but LA was named after the virgin mary, remember the original name was El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula which translates into The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the river of Porzuincola. the city's name is basically describing who the virgin mary is, the queen of the angels on the porzuincola river

El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula - E.P.D.N.S.L.R.D.L.A.D.R.D.P. Whew, L.A. is a lot easier, I must say.

[sarahkate_m]

Originally Posted by Winston Smith

Manteca = Lard. Truth or fable? I always wonder about names like Fairview, Grandview, Planeview. Or is that Plainview? Planeview I guess is on top of the parking garage at Burbank Airport. What the heck is a "bur-bank" anyway?? It's next to Glendale, which from what I'm told is neither a "glen" nor a "dale"! And what about all of the San and Santa cities? Any saints left or is it all Sodom and Gomorrah? God knows Los Angeles is hardly that!

Ok, I actually looked it up: manteca - Wiktionary

In Spanish, it is lard. But it also has italianate roots. To whip or whisk.

None of it adds up to anything romantic!

Manteca, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Manteca is a city in the central valley of California, about 80 miles east of San Francisco. It was founded in 1861 by Joshua Cowell. Cowell claimed around 1,000 acres (4 km²) and built houses on what is now the corner of Main and Yosemite where Bank of America now stands. In 1873, the Central Pacific Railroad laid track directly through the area. The residents wanted to refer to their new train station as "Cowell Station", but there was already a Cowell Station near Tracy. So, the residents agreed to change the name of the community, choosing "Monteca" as the new name. This was misprinted as "Manteca" (Spanish for lard) by the railroad, and the mis-spelled version was eventually accepted as the name of the town.[1] Hence in 1918, Manteca was incorporated as a city and Joshua Cowell became its first mayor."

Kate

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by sarahkate_m

Ok, I actually looked it up: manteca - Wiktionary

In Spanish, it is lard. But it also has italianate roots. To whip or whisk.

None of it adds up to anything romantic!

Manteca, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Manteca is a city in the central valley of California, about 80 miles east of San Francisco. It was founded in 1861 by Joshua Cowell. Cowell claimed around 1,000 acres (4 km²) and built houses on what is now the corner of Main and Yosemite where Bank of America now stands. In 1873, the Central Pacific Railroad laid track directly through the area. The residents wanted to refer to their new train station as "Cowell Station", but there was already a Cowell Station near Tracy. So, the residents agreed to change the name of the community, choosing "Monteca" as the new name. This was misprinted as "Manteca" (Spanish for lard) by the railroad, and the mis-spelled version was eventually accepted as the name of the town.[1] Hence in 1918, Manteca was incorporated as a city and Joshua Cowell became its first mayor."

Kate

Great find! Funny and ironic, a little tragic, as well.

I know that "mantequia" is Spanish for butter, presumably a substance made in part from lard? I think the city name would sound better with the definite article in front of it, like so many other Spanish-named towns in CA: La Cañada, La Puente, El Cajon, El Centro, La Jolla... La Manteca.

ETA: a verb form (if one exists), to whip/whisk, would be "mantequar", I guess.

[DMenscha]

Coalinga= Coaling Station A. The place where the railroads refueled their engines.

[Snort]

And here I was thinking it was a portmanteau word for Cowabunga! and that Latin word for 'carpet munching'.