List of Riverside County, California placename etymologies

This is a list of geographic place names, or toponyms, in Riverside County, California. The county itself was named for the city of Riverside, the county seat, which in turn was named for its location beside the Santa Ana River.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Municipalities
Name Coordinates Origin Comments
Banning 33.926°N 116.876°W / 33.926; -116.876 (Banning) Initially known as Moore City, after Ransom B. Moore, a former Texas Ranger who settled in the area,[1] Banning was quickly renamed for Phineas Banning, a stagecoach operator, "Father of the Port of Los Angeles", and one of the Banning city founders.
Beaumont 33.929°N 116.977°W / 33.929; -116.977 (Beaumont) When the first stagecoach lines began service through the San Gorgonio Pass in 1862, much of the land around Beaumont had been purchased by William F. Edgar, who had participated in an earlier survey of the Pass. A stagecoach station named for him, Edgar Station, was established. When the Southern Pacific Railroad established a station and telegraph office at the Beaumont location in 1875, they named it Summit, or Summit Station. This was in recognition of the fact that Beaumont is at the summit of the San Gorgonio Pass.[2][3] In 1884 George C. Egan of Banning purchased the railroad's odd numbered sections of land in the Beaumont area. He laid out a townsite that he named San Gorgonio. In 1887 the Southern California Investment Company, managed by Henry C. Sigler, purchased the town from Egan. Sigler renamed the town Beaumont, French for "beautiful mountain"[4][5]. The name was likely chosen for the town's view of the 10,834 feet (3,302 m) Mount San Jacinto[6]. Local lore has perpetuated the idea that Sigler named Beaumont after his hometown of Beaumont, Texas. Historian Steve Lech has suggested this cannot be accurate, as Sigler was born in Licking County, Ohio. Sigler then pursued a banking career in Osceola, Iowa, before he relocated to Los Angeles, California in the mid 1880s. Beaumont, Texas was not Sigler's hometown, and it does not appear he ever lived there.[6]
Blythe 33.611°N 114.559°W / 33.611; -114.559 (Blythe) Blythe was named after Thomas Henry Blythe (1822 - 1883), a San Francisco businessman and entrepreneur, who established primary water rights to the Colorado River in the southwestern California region in 1877. Originally named Blythe City, by Thomas Blythe himself, the name was shortened to simply Blythe around the time the first post office was opened in 1908.[7]
Calimesa
Canyon Lake
Cathedral City 33.780°N 116.465°W / 33.780; -116.465 (Cathedral City) The city's name is derived from Cathedral Canyon located to the south of the city in the foothills of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. The canyon is said to have been named for rock formations in the canyon that looked reminiscent of a cathedral.[8] At times the city has also been referred to using the "unappreciated" name Cat City.[9] See Cathedral Canyon on list of topographic place names.
Coachella
Corona 33.8667°N 117.5667°W / 33.8667; -117.5667 (Corona) Corona is Spanish for crown or wreath. Originally called South Riverside, citizens wanted to distinguish their city from the larger city of Riverside to the north. When it came time to incorporate the city a number of different names were considered, but the name Corona was chosen to play upon a unique feature of the city, the one-mile diameter drive that circled the center of the town. The circular road also contributed to another informal name for the city, Circle City.[10][11]
Desert Hot Springs 33.961°N 116.502°W / 33.961; -116.502 (Desert Hot Springs) Named for the many natural hot springs in and around the city.[12][13]
Eastvale
Hemet
Indian Wells 33.719°N 116.308°W / 33.719; -116.308 (Indio) Indian Wells was given its name because the local Desert Cahuilla Indians had established water wells in the area.[14] The wells themselves were named Pal Kavinic, meaning water hole in the Cahuilla language, and Palma Seca, meaning dry palm in Spanish. The city was incorporated July 14, 1967.[15]
Indio 33.721°N 116.2156°W / 33.721; -116.2156 (Indio) Indio is Spanish for the word indian. Originally the site of the Indian Wells railroad station, the station was renamed the Indio railroad station in 1877 by the Southern Pacific Company, because another station on the same rail line was also named the Indian Wells station. In 1888 a plat map for Indio was filed for the town that had developed around the Indio railway station, and the city of Indio was incorporated on May 16, 1930.[16] See also Indian Wells.
Jurupa Valley
Lake Elsinore
Menifee
Moreno Valley
Murrieta
Norco 33.9311°N 117.5486°W / 33.9311; -117.5486 (Norco) Just north of the city of Corona, Norco is an abbreviation of North Corona. Rex B. Clark, the key figure in Norco's founding, is credited for coining the term.[17] See also Corona.
Palm Desert
Palm Springs 33.830°N 116.545°W / 33.830; -116.545 (Palm Springs) The precise origin of the name Palm Springs is uncertain. The use of the word “Springs” is a reference to the natural hot spring in the cities downtown area, but the origin of the word palm is disputed. One possible source of palm comes from early Spanish explorers who referred to the Palm Springs area as La Palma de la Mano de Dios or The Palm of God's hand.[18] However, according to William Bright, when the word "palm" appears in Californian place names, it usually refers to the native California fan palm, Washingtonia filifera, which is abundant in the Palm Springs area.[19] The earliest use of the name "Palm Springs" is from United States Topographical Engineers who used the term in 1853 maps.[20]
Perris
Rancho Mirage
Riverside 33.948°N 117.396°W / 33.948; -117.396 (Riverside) In September, 1870, the Southern California Colony Association of Jurupa was formed, and they purchased the land and water rights necessary to establish a new colony along the Santa Ana River. Initially they referred to the new town as Jurupa, the name of the original 1838 Mexican land grant their land had been partitioned from. To emphasize the fact that the new town was located near a water source, in a somewhat arid region, the founders voted to officially name the new town Riverside on December 18, 1870.[21][22]
San Jacinto
Temecula
Wildomar

Topographic Place Names
Name Coordinates Origin Comments
Agua Caliente 33.8235°N 116.5448°W / 33.8235; -116.5448 (Agua Caliente Spring) Meaning “hot water” in Spanish, the term was used to refer to the hot spring in downtown Palm Springs when the Spanish arrived in the area. The term was later used in reference to the community that developed around the spring before the town was incorporated and renamed Palm Springs. See also Sec-he.
Banning Pass See San Gorgonio The city of Banning is located within the San Gorgonio Pass resulting the in the pass sometimes being referred to as the Banning Pass. For the origin of the name Banning, see Banning in list of Municipalities.
Bernasconi Bernasconi Bay (or Cove)
33.8486°N 117.1658°W / 33.8486; -117.1658 (Bernasconi Bay)
Bernasconi Beach
33.8466°N 117.1664°W / 33.8466; -117.1664 (Bernasconi Beach)
Bernasconi Hills
33.8464°N 117.1544°W / 33.8464; -117.1544 (Bernasconi Hills)
Bernasconi Pass (and Road)
33.8408°N 117.1617°W / 33.8408; -117.1617 (Bernasconi Pass)		 The Bernasconi Hills and Bernasconi Pass were named for Bernardo Bernasconi (1839-1923), a native of Switzerland, and an early pioneer of Riverside County, who purchased 284 acres of land in 1878 along the San Jacinto River, near what is now Lakeview. Bernasconi developed a sheep ranch on the land, named it Sulphur Springs Ranch, and in 1883 married Marcellini Orsi in San Francisco. After they married, Bernasconi and his wife made the ranch their home. Marcellini developed the hot springs in the area and called them Bernasconi Hot Springs.[23] When the Lake Perris reservoir was formed in 1973, the western side of the pass was flooded, but the beach, and a small cove, at the base of the hills were named Bernasconi Beach and Bernasconi Bay.
Blythe Intaglios 33°48′01″N 114°32′18″W The Blythe Intaglios or Geoglyphs are a group of over 200 ground drawings located in the Colorado Desert. They received their name for their proximity to the city of Blythe. See Blythe on list of municipalities.
Bradshaw Trail 33.562°N 115.589°W / 33.562; -115.589 (Bradshaw Trail)
Western end
33.493°N 114.741°W / 33.493; -114.741 (Coachella Valley)
Eastern end		 Today's Bradshaw Trail is a remnant of the much longer Bradshaw Road, also known as the Gold Road, or Road to La Paz. When gold was discovered near La Paz, Arizona, it prompted William D. Bradshaw to map a route through the Colorado Desert between San Bernardino, California and La Paz. He primarily followed old Cahuilla Indian trading routes, and to cross the Colorado River, he and a partner set up a ferry operation. After an account of his trek was published in June 14, 1862, the road quickly became well traveled by gold seekers, stagecoach lines, and others.[24] For awhile the trail picked up the name Butterfield Road, after the Butterfiled stagecoach company, but on May 21, 1974, the Riverside County Board of supervisors officially named it the Bradshaw Trail.[25]
Cathedral Canyon 33.723°N 116.474°W / 33.723; -116.474 (Cathedral Canyon) While performing a survey for the United States government in 1850, the canyon is said to have been named by U.S. Army Colonel Henry Washington, a nephew of President George Washington, after deciding rock formations in the canyon looked reminiscent of a cathedral.[8] A flood in August, 1946, significantly altered the cathedral-like features of the canyon.[26] Jane Davies Gunther, in her book Riverside County, California Place Names; Their Origins and Their Stories, casts doubt on whether Colonel Washington actually named the canyon. None of his survey records, or the subsequent survey records by John La Croze in 1856, or by Carl R. and Marvin Caudle in 1903, mention the canyon by name. The name Cathedral Canyon first appears on the 1904 U.S. Geological Survey Indio Special Map.[27]
Coachella Valley 33.406°N 116.040°W / 33.406; -116.040 (Coachella Valley)
Southeast end
33.97°N 116.62°W / 33.97; -116.62 (Coachella Valley)
Northwest end
Devils Garden 34.018°N 116.599°W / 34.018; -116.599 (Devils Garden) Devils Garden received its name because at one time it was a "tangled mass of boulders, cactus, and desert growth".[28] Devils Garden is known for its variety of cacti and succulents. The Devils Garden hiking trail winds through the area. Much of the old growth was lost due to poaching and fire.[29]
Edgar Station NA See Beaumont on list of municipalities.
San Gorgonio San Gorgonio Mountain
34.0992°N 116.8249°W / 34.0992; -116.8249 (San Gorgonio Mountain)
San Gorgonio Pass
33.928°N 116.698°W / 33.928; -116.698 (San Gorgonio Pass)
San Gorgonio River
33.9033°N 116.6281°W / 33.9033; -116.6281 (San Gorgonio River)		 Rancho San Gorgonio was established in 1824 by Spanish Missionaries, who named the ranch in honor of Saint Gorgonius. The ranch was one of the principle rancherias, and the most distant, of the San Gabriel Mission near what is now Los Angeles, California. It occupied most of today's San Gorgonio Pass area. The name of the ranch was later applied to the pass itself, the 11,503 feet (3,506 m) peak to the north of the pass, the primary river that runs through the pass, and it was used initially as the name for the town of Beaumont[30][31]. See also Beaumont on list of municipalities.
Santa Ana River 33.97°N 117.50°W / 33.97; -117.50 (Santa Ana River) Santa Ana was used by the Spanish to honor Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary. The Portolá expedition is known to have camped on the river on July 28, 1769, just two days after Saint Anne's Feast day. They used the Spanish Rio de Santa Ana to name the river, which later was translated to Santa Ana River.[32]
Santiago Peak
Sec-he,
Se-khi, or
Sexhi		 See Agua Caliente Sec-he is the Cahuilla Indian term for “boiling water”. It was the original name given to the Palm Springs area by the Cahuilla Indians prior to the arrival of the Spanish explorers. The name was derived from the Hot Spring located in downtown Palm Springs.[33] The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians is developing a new spa, The Spa at Sec-he, which is built around the original hot spring. The spa is due to open in late 2020.[34]
Summit Station NA See Beaumont on list of municipalities.
Tahquitz,
Tahkoosh, or
Takwish		 Tahquitz Canyon &
Tahquitz Creek
33.5014°N 116.3083°W / 33.5014; -116.3083 (Tahquitz Canyon)
Tahquitz Falls
33.8036°N 116.5617°W / 33.8036; -116.5617 (Tahquitz Falls)
Tahquitz Peak
33.7552°N 116.6769°W / 33.7552; -116.6769 (Tahquitz Peak)		 Tahquitz is the name of an ancient Cahuilla Indian shaman who had been banished to what is now Tahquitz Canyon. According to legend, after Tahquitz died his evil spirit remained in the canyon and can still be seen in the form of various phenomena.[35][36]
Temescal, or
Temascal		 Rancho Temescal
Temescal Canyon
33.5151°N 117.3129°W / 33.5151; -117.3129 (Temescal Canyon)
Temescal Creek
33.5422°N 117.3650°W / 33.5422; -117.3650 (Temescal Creek)
Temescal Mountains
33.7703°N 117.335°W / 33.7703; -117.335 (Temescal Mountains)
Temescal Valley
33.4727°N 117.3014°W / 33.4727; -117.3014 (Temescal Valley)		 A temescal, an alternate spelling of Temazcal, is a form of sweathouse used by some Mesoamerican Indians. The word is derived from the Aztec for "to bathe", tema, and "house", calli.[37] Franciscan priests, who arrived in the Americas with the Spanish colonists, brought the term north to California, and applied it to the sweathouses used by California Indians.[38][39] The Luiseño Indians had a settlement, with such a sweathouse, at the hot springs in Temescal Canyon. When the Spanish arrived the community became known as Temescal, and the name was later applied to Rancho Temescal when it was established around 1819 by Leandro Serrano. The name of the community and rancho were in turn applied to other geographical features in the area.[40][41] For Temescal Peak see Santiago Peak[42].

See also

References

Bibliography
  • Gudde, Erwin G. California Place Names; A Geographical Dictionary, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles California, 1949.
  • Gunther, Jane Davies. Riverside County, California, Place Names; Their Origins and Their Stories, Riverside, CA, 1984. LOC catalog number: 84–72920.
  • Van De Grift Sanchez, Nellie. Spanish and Indian Place Names of California; Their Meaning and Their Romance, San Francisco, CA, 1922, Second edition.

Citations and notes
  1. Gunther, pg 332
  2. Gudde, pp26.
  3. King, Homer D. (August 11, 1939). "Observations" (Forty-sixth Year, No. 42.). Hemet, California. The Hemet News. p. 1.
  4. Lawton, Harry (June 19, 1955). "Beaumont Points to Striking Changes". Riverside, California. The Daily Independent Enterprise. p. 6.
  5. Hughes, Tom (1938). History of Banning and San Gorgonio Pass. Banning, California: Banning Record Print. p. 26.
  6. Lech, Steve (2 August 2013). "Back in The Day: Beaumont Wasn't Named for Founder's Home Town". Digital First Media. The Press Enterprise. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  7. Gunther, pg 60
  8. Mojave, Mojo on the. "George Washington's Nephew in the Mojave Desert?". DesertUSA. Mojo on the Mojave. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  9. Gunther, pg 106.
  10. "History of Corona". City of Corona; The Circle City. City of Corona. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  11. Gunther, pp 134-135.
  12. Howells, John (2015). Where to Retire: America’s Best & Most Affordable Places. Rowman & Littlefield. Page 70. ISBN 9781493016457.
  13. Editors of Time Out (2011). Time Out Los Angeles. Time Out Guides. Page 293. ISBN 9781846703010.
  14. Gudde, pg 160
  15. Gunther, pg 249
  16. Gunther, pg 251
  17. Wilkman, Bill. "A Brief History of Norco". City of Norco, California; Norco History. City of Norco. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  18. Gittens, Roberta (November 1992). "A Palm-filled Oasis: Palm Springs and the Desert Communities of the Coachella Valley". Art of California. 5 (5): 45. ISSN 1045-8913. OCLC 19009782.
  19. Bright, William (1998). Fifteen Hundred California Place Names. University of California Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-520-21271-8. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  20. "City of Palm Springs: History". Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  21. An Illustrated history of southern California : embracing the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the peninsula of lower California, from the earliest period of occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of their prospects, also, full-page portraits of some of their eminent men, and biographical mention of many of their pioneers and of prominent citizens of to-day (Public domain ed.). Lewis Publishing Company. 1890. pp. 462–. ISBN 978-5-87987-880-6.
  22. Gunther, pp 427-429, 506-507.
  23. Morrison, Evaline (6 October 1956). "Perris Pioneer Marks 99th Birthday In Former Headquarters of Miners" (Vol. LXXI, No. 245). Riverside, California: The Press Enterprise Company. The Daily Independent Enterprise; Valley Edition.
  24. Gunther, Pgs. 431-433.
  25. Gunther, Pgs. 70-71.
  26. Hillery, Robert A. (2015). Cathedral City The Early Years 1925 to 1981. Denver, Colorado: Outskirts Press, Inc. p. 8.
  27. Gunther, pgs 104-105.
  28. Ainsworth, Ed (November 4–11, 1938). "70 Vaqueros Start First Annual Trek" (Vol XXII, No 14, Pg 1). The Desert Sun.CS1 maint: date format (link)
  29. Cornett, James (April 4, 2004). "The desert is brimming with cactus species in bloom" (Sec. Outdoors, Pg F5). The Desert Sun.
  30. Gunther, Jane Davies (1984). Riverside County, California, Place Names; Their Origins and Their Stories. Riverside, California. pp. 456–461.
  31. Gudde, Erwin G. (1949). California Place Names (1st ed.). Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 305.
  32. Gudde, pg 313
  33. "Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians: Cultural History". Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  34. "The Spa at Sec-he". Spas of America. Spas of America. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  35. Gudde, pp352.
  36. "Tahquitz Canyon steeped in Cahuilla lore". MediaNews Group Inc. The Orange County Register. October 30, 2005. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  37. "temescal". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  38. Van De Grift Sanchez, pp71.
  39. Slaughter, Mrs. H Earl (May 12, 1925). "Some Historical Landmarks In Riverside County Towns" (Vol. XL, No. 113). Riverside, California. The Daily Press. p. 6.
  40. Gudde, pp 357.
  41. Gunther, pp 528-530.
  42. "Feature Detail Report for: Santiago Peak". USGS. United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
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