High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The toponym California
is currently used by three North American entities?in the United
States, by the state of California; and in Mexico, by the states of
Baja California ("Lower California") and Baja California
Sur ("South Lower California") (collectively, these three
areas constitute the region formerly referred to as Las
Californias)?and shared by many other places in other parts of the
world whose names derive from these. Several origins have been
suggested for the word "California", including Spanish,
Latin, South Asian, and Aboriginal American origins. All of these
are disputed. The following paragraphs illustrate some of the
extant claims.
