California

==Etymology==
{{Main|Etymology of California|Island of California}}
[[File:Detail of Queen Califia in the "California's Name" mural (Lucile Lloyd, 1937) (cropped).gif|thumb|left|upright|California and its namesake ruler, [[Calafia|Queen Calafia]], originate in the 1510 epic ''[[Las Sergas de Esplandián]]'', written by [[Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo]].]]

The Spaniards gave the name {{lang|es|Las Californias}} to the [[Baja California peninsula|peninsula of Baja California]] (in modern-day Mexico). As Spanish explorers and settlers moved north and inland, the region known as ''California'', or ''Las Californias'', grew. Eventually it included lands north of the peninsula, [[Alta California]], part of which became the present-day U.S. state of California.

The name derived from the mythical island of California in the fictional story of [[Calafia|Queen Calafia]], as recorded in a 1510 work ''[[Las sergas de Esplandián|The Adventures of Esplandián]]'' by [[Castilians|Castilian]] author [[Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo]].<ref name="Gudde-2010">{{Cite book |last1=Gudde |first1=Erwin G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ibMwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR9 |title=California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names |last2=Bright |first2=William |date=2010 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-26619-3 |pages=59–60 |orig-date=2004}}</ref> This work was the fifth in a popular Spanish [[chivalric romance]] series that began with {{Lang|es|[[Amadís de Gaula]]}}.<ref name="Lavender 1987">{{Cite book |last=Lavender |first=David |url=https://archive.org/details/californialandof0000lave/page/27 |title=California: Land of New Beginnings |date=1987 |publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]] |isbn=978-0-8032-7924-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/californialandof0000lave/page/27 27] |oclc=15315566 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 24, 1957 |editor-last=Harper |editor-first=Douglas |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=california&searchmode=none |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024080758/https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=california |archive-date=October 24, 2017 |access-date=July 2, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 27, 2010 |title=What bizarre error gave California its name? |work=Everything After Z by Dictionary.com |url=http://www.dictionary.com/e/california/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221100114/https://www.dictionary.com/e/california/ |archive-date=February 21, 2018}}</ref> Queen Calafia's kingdom was said to be a remote land rich in gold and pearls, inhabited by beautiful Black women who wore gold armor and lived like [[Amazons]], as well as [[griffin]]s and other strange beasts.<ref name="Gudde-2010" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Putnam |first=Ruth |title=California: The name |date=1917 |publisher=University of California |editor-last=Priestley |editor-first=Herbert Ingram |location=Berkeley |pages=356–361 |chapter=Appendix A: Etymology of the Word 'California': Surmises and Usage |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924008278347}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vogeley |first=Nancy |date=April 20, 2001 |title=How Chivalry Formed the Myth of California |journal=Modern Language Quarterly |volume=62 |issue=2 |pages=165–188 |doi=10.1215/00267929-62-2-165 |s2cid=163100071}}</ref> In the fictional paradise, the ruler Queen Calafia fought alongside Muslims and her name may have been chosen to echo the Muslim title [[caliph]], used for Muslim leaders.<ref name="Gudde-2010" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Forsyth |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cy2MDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA223 |title=The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language |date=2011 |publisher=Penguin Group/Berkley Books |isbn=978-0-425-26079-1 |location=New York |page=223}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Know ye that at the right hand of the Indies there is an island called California, very close to that part of the Terrestrial Paradise, which was inhabited by black women without a single man among them, and they lived in the manner of Amazons. They were robust of body with strong passionate hearts and great virtue. The island itself is one of the wildest in the world on account of the bold and craggy rocks. |Chapter CLVII of ''[[Las sergas de Esplandián|The Adventures of Esplandián]]''<ref>Putnam, 1917, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924008278347#page/n23/mode/1up/ p. 306]</ref>}}

Official abbreviations of the state's name include [[List of U.S. state abbreviations|CA, Cal., Calif.]], and [[ISO 3166|US-CA]].