WHAT’S IN A NAME?
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Lots of us change our names, even cities. Here’s a list of how county cities have switched (or, in some cases, what a particularly popular nickname was):
City Names Anaheim Campo Aleman to early Spanish-speaking residents Brea Site of Randolph, a town that failed to take root Buena Park Boone Park Costa Mesa Harper; Goat Hill to Newport Beach high school students from rival Newport Harbor High School (1930) Cypress Waterville (hoped to be called Lindbergh (1927), but name not approved) Dana Point Point San Juan to mariners Fountain Valley Squatters Country; Gospel Swamp Fullerton La Habra Huntington Beach Shell Beach, Pacific City Irvine Myford Laguna Beach Lagona La Palma Dairyland Newport Beach Mackerel Flat to rival Costa Mesa high school students (1930) Orange Richland San Juan Capistrano Capistrano Seal Beach Anaheim Landing, founded as Bay City Stanton Benedict Tustin Tustin City Villa Park Mountain View
Note: There’ve been no similar changes for the cities of Garden Grove, Laguna Niguel, La Habra, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, Placentia, San Clemente, Santa Ana, Westminster, and Yorba Linda.
Source: “Historic Place Names in Orange County,” by Don Meadows (Paisano Press, Balboa Island, Calif., 1966)
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