1466: california pt 2 Dec 16, 2018

The origin of 'California' is from a book, but for a long time there was a lot of difference in opinion on the matter. Some possibly etymologies popped up that were from many different languages, but one that was particularly arresting and plausible was that the word came from 'caliph', as in the root of 'caliphate'. Nevertheless, even once the novel that inspired the name of California was uncovered, many scholars believed that Ordóñez de Montalvo made up the name 'California'—the name for the fictional utopia—at least inspired by 'caliph'. Ultimately, this will never be known for sure.

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