Revision History

loadingDate    Editor    Name ID    Change Summary
1/21/2022, 9:40 PM Mike C california added (from user-submitted name 197161)
9/9/2021, 3:47 PM HL 197161
9/9/2021, 3:47 PM HL 197161
9/10/2020, 10:43 AM HL 197161
11/21/2015, 5:31 PM Mike C 197161 merge 2 names
12/30/2014, 8:13 AM Fanny 197161
8/8/2014, 9:08 AM Fanny

Type Political Subdivision & Island
Pronounced Pron. kal-i-FAWR-nyə(English) ka-lee-FOR-nya(Spanish) ka-lee-FAWR-nya(Italian)

Meaning & History

From the name of a fictional utopian island populated only by women in the 16th-century novel The Adventures of Esplandián by the Spanish author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The name comes from the island's queen, Calafia, itself probably derived from Arabic خليفة (khalifah), an Islamic title meaning "successor". This is the name of an American state as well as two states of Mexico (Baja California and Baja California Sur).