Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2016 March 25

= March 25 =

Etymology of California
My uncle's wife told me that California was named after some place in France called Californie (see fr:Californie (homonymie)). Etymology of California doesn't seem to support this theory. Could there be any truth to this? J I P &#124; Talk 21:43, 25 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Here's what EO has to say about it: ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 23:14, 25 March 2016 (UTC)
 * No mention of any French origins of the name in List of state name etymologies of the United States either. --Theurgist (talk) 00:27, 26 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Just to clarify, received opinion is that the name of the American state is derived from the fifteenth-century romance Las sergas de Esplandián (and therefore ultimately from "caliph"). However, JIP's relative and the French dab page claim that there was a place in Brittany called "Californie" predating the book.  I've not been able to find any references to this theory elsewhere, though. Tevildo (talk) 12:11, 26 March 2016 (UTC)