Did you ever wonder how the names of places came about? How about Cuba? How Cuba got its name can be found in an old newspaper from 1902, along with other names Christopher Columbus tried to stick on it.
How Cuba Was Named
Cuba is the name by which the island was originally known to the Lucayan Indians, who were with Columbus when he discovered it.
One of its villages or cities was called by them Cubanacan, and it is reported that from the similarity of sounds, Columbus, still supposing himself to be on the coast of Asia, imagined that this must be a city of Kubia Kahan, the Tartar sovereign celebrated by Marco Polo.
The survival of the original name for Cuba is a remarkable instance of persistence, as the island has been baptized and re-baptized many times since its European discovery. Columbus first called it Juana, in honor of Prince John, the son of Ferdinand and Isabella. After Ferdinand’s death it was called in his memory, Fernandina. Subsequently this name was changed to Santiago, after the patron saint of Spain. Still later it was named Ave Maria, in honor of the Virgin Mary. But none of these names held and the Indian name is still preserved. [Source]
