Etymologies of place names in Los Angeles, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Source of the place names in the city of Los Angeles, California.
| Place Name | Source |
|---|---|
| Abbot Kinney Boulevard | Abbot Kinney, Founder of Venice, California (b. 1850, New Brunswick, New Jersey - d. 1920, Santa Monica, California) |
| Alvarado Street | Juan Bautista Alvarado, Mexican Governor of Alta California from 1836 to 1837 and from 1838 to 1842 |
| Baldwin Hills neighborhood | E. J. "Lucky" Baldwin |
| Beaudry Avenue | Prudent Beaudry, mayor (1874–1876) |
| Bel-Air neighborhood | Alphonzo E. Bell, Sr., owner of the "Buenos Aires Ranch" |
| La Brea Avenue | La Brea, the Spanish name for the oil fields near present-day Hancock Park, meaning tar |
| Cahuenga Boulevard Cahuenga Pass |
Cahuenga, the Spanish name for the Tongva village of Kawengna, meaning place of the mountain |
| César E. Chávez Avenue | César Chávez |
| La Cienega Boulevard | Rancho Las Ciénegas, a rancho in the West Los Angeles area, from the Spanish term ciénaga meaning marsh or bog |
| Crenshaw neighborhood Crenshaw Boulevard |
George Crenshaw |
| Los Feliz neighborhood Los Feliz Boulevard |
Rancho Los Feliz, originally granted to José Vincente Feliz |
| Figueroa Avenue Figueroa Street |
José Figueroa |
| Glassell Park neighborhood | Andrew Glassell |
| Griffith Park and Griffith Observatory | Griffith J. Griffith |
| Huntington Drive | Henry E. Huntington |
| Lankershim Boulevard | Isaac B. Lankershim |
| Leimert Park | Walter H. "Tim" Leimert |
| Micheltorena Street | Manuel Micheltorena |
| Mulholland Drive Mulholland Highway |
William Mulholland |
| Olvera Street | Augustín Olvera |
| Olympic Boulevard | Named as part of the L.A.'s failed bid for the 1928 Summer Olympics |
| Pico Boulevard | Pío Pico |
| Sepulveda Boulevard Sepulveda Pass |
Sepúlveda family |
| Sherman Oaks neighborhood Sherman Way |
Moses Sherman |
| Silver Lake neighborhood Silver Lake Boulevard Silver Lake Reservoir |
Herman Silver |
| Tarzana neighborhood | Tarzana Ranch, owned by the creator of Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs |
| Tujunga neighborhood Tujunga Avenue |
From the Tongva term Tuyunga, meaning mountain range from tu'xuu = old woman tu'xuunga =place of the old woman |
| Van Nuys neighborhood Van Nuys Boulevard |
Isaac Newton Van Nuys |
| Vignes Street | Jean Louis Vignes |
| Watts neighborhood | C. H. Watts |
| Wilmington neighborhood | Wilmington, Delaware, birthplace of founder Phineas Banning |
| Wilshire Boulevard | H. Gaylord Wilshire |
| Workman Street, Lincoln Heights | William H. Workman, mayor (1886–1888) |
