The provinces of the Philippines are mainly named after geographic features like rivers and islands, after abundant flora and fauna, after ethnic groups or individuals, or bear a name of older local origin.
Directions in Spanish Some provinces are prefixed/suffixed with a Spanish word denoting one of the four cardinal directions. These are:
Provincial names Abra abra, . Originally the area called in , only referred to the narrow but conspicuous gap along the Malayan (Ilocos) mountain range through which the Tineg River has cut an exit. This topographic feature, now called the Banaoang Gap, is situated southeast of the city of Vigan, where the Quirino Bridge is now located; it serves as the natural entrance to the fertile Tineg River basin. Over time the phrase was shortened, and the area which Abra referred to expanded to include most of the upland territory drained by the Tineg River between the Malayan Range and the Cordillera Central, and inhabited by the Itneg. Agusan (del Norte and del Sur) agusan, Manobo for "where the water flows," referring to the river that now bears this name. Aklan akean, Akeanon for "where there is boiling or frothing," describing the water flow of the Aklan River at shallow areas near its mouth, where Kalibo is located, especially during the dry season. Aclán was the original name of Kalibo, and the river was known in early Spanish accounts as . The Spanish-era territory that covered the river valley was also called Aclán but following subsequent divisions was renamed Calivo. Upon the separation of the Akeanon-speaking part of Capiz in 1956, Aclán (spelled in Filipino orthography as Aklan) was resurrected as the name for the new province, and Kalibo was named its capital. Albay
From Early Modern Philippine , composed of the Spanish article, , and , which was an old variant spelling of , referring to Albay Gulf as in longer obsolete variant names, or as in Olivier van Noort's 1602 Map of La Baye la baye (Albay Gulf, by modern-day Legazpi City), where the first baye or bay is the old variant spelling of , but the second baye or bay refers to its original derivation from originally referring to the shores of Albay (now Legazpi City), where finally, it was simplified or shortened to just its present form to do away with any confusion. The name originally referred to the coastal settlement of Sawangan, now the port district of Legazpi City. In time, the name was also later applied to the province over which the town of Albay (now Legazpi City) served as the capital. Antique Hispanicized form of the word hamtik, Kinaray-a for a species of large red ants abundant in the town of Hamtic (formerly rendered as Antique in Spanish), which served as the first capital of the province. As with many other provinces created during the Spanish colonial era, the name of the capital town was applied to the whole province. Apayao apa'yaw, a word in various Cordilleran languages meaning "overtaking," in reference to the swift-flowing river that drains the mountainous terrain inhabited by the Isneg ethnic group. Among the Isneg, apa'yaw only refers to the main branch of the upper reaches of the Apayao-Abulug River system, and only those who live along that part of the river basin are called i-apa'yaw ("from Apa'yaw"). Apa'yaw as an appellation for the entire ethnic group is therefore an exonym; Isneg is the endonym. Apayao (with the spelling rendered in accordance with Spanish orthography) was the name given to the Isneg-majority sub-province established in 1907. Aurora Spanish given name. The province was named in honor of Aurora Quezon, wife of president Manuel Quezon, who in turn was born in the town of Baler, now the province's capital; Aurora Quezon herself was also born in Baler. Aurora itself is the Latin word for "dawn," this is also a Spanish loanword from Latin itself. Basilan basilan, a native word possibly meaning "waterway into the [open] sea," referring to the body of water connecting the Sulu Sea to the Moro Gulf and the Celebes Sea. The first Spanish accounts of the area call the province's main island Tagima (variously spelled Taghima, Taguina, Tagliman and Taguima), even though the strait separating this island from Mindanao was already known as Basilan. Over time, the name of the strategic waterway began to be applied to the island lying on the other side of the strait, opposite the Spanish fort at Samboangan. Contraction of basih balan, Bahasa Sūg for "magnetic iron," referring to the rich iron ore deposits found in the island that now bears its name, after which the province was named. Bataan Evolved form of batan, a word of obscure origin, which was the indigenous name for the land across the water from Maragondon, also rendered in early Spanish accounts as Vatan. The term batang has cognates across various Austronesian languages, mostly being a word that means "the main part of something," such as "trunk" or "body" (see Batangas below). On a more abstract level, the term means "the most important or pre-eminent thing." Reflexes of batang in some Austronesian languages also lend support to the possible interpretation "land bridge," given the term's usage related to elongated, trunk-like shapes. The use of batan for the province's namesake peninsula may therefore be related either to: 1) its conspicuousness within the Manila Bay area, given the topographic prominence of its two high peaks (Mount Natib, and Mount Mariveles which dominates entrance to Manila Bay), or 2) its elongated shape and topography, which resulted from a plateau being formed between the two aforementioned volcanic peaks (see Batanes below for a similar interpretation). Another source is that bataan is the Old Kapampangan word for "mercenary." What is the Kapampangan Region? Batanes Hispanicized and pluralized form of vatan, the indigenous name for the province's main island, of obscure origin, similar to the etymology of Bataan above. The term batang has cognates across various Austronesian languages, mostly being a word that means "the main part of something," such as "trunk" or "body" (see Batangas below). On a more abstract level, the term means "the most important or pre-eminent thing." Reflexes of batang in some Austronesian languages also lend support to the possible interpretation "land bridge," given the term's usage related to elongated, trunk-like shapes. The use of batan for the province's namesake island may therefore be related either to: 1) its conspicuousness within its immediate island group, given the topographic prominence of its two high peaks (Mount Iraya and Mount Matarem), or 2) its elongated shape and topography, which resulted from a plateau being formed between the two aforementioned volcanic peaks. The province and the island group was named after the pluralized version of Batan, as this island served as the political and economic center. Batangas Spanish plural form of the Tagalog word batang, meaning "log," in reference to the trunks of logged trees that used to be floated down the Calumpang River which runs through the town (now city) of Batangas. Originally the name only referred to the town, but as with many other provinces created during the Spanish colonial era, the name of the capital town was applied to the whole province. Other former names of the province that reflected the location of the administrative capital include Balayan, Bombon (a settlement on the shores of what is now Taal Lake destroyed by volcanic eruption and later re-established as the town of San Nicolas), and Comintan (after the settlement of Kumintang, now part of Batangas City).[Provincial Profile of Batangas] Benguet Hispanicized rendering of benget, Kankanaey word for "edge." This was the original name of the settlement at the edge of a swamp formed by the Balili River flooding the flat valley floor. Benget eventually lent its name to the swampy valley (which has since been converted for agricultural production and is now known as the La Trinidad Valley), as well as the Spanish-era comandancia and American-era province administered from it. Biliran biliran, a Waray word meaning "edge" or "something which forms corners or tips," likely in reference to the sandy point (now called Inagawan or Banderahan) at the mouth of what is now the Caraycaray River. The settlement near this sandy point was also named Biliran, and it became the poblacion (administrative center) of the pueblo of the same name in 1712. The island from which the present-day province takes its name more prevalently began to be called Biliran following the establishment of the pueblo, replacing the old name Panamao which referred to the island's once-active main volcano. The original Biliran poblacion was a thriving shipbuilding settlement which produced galleons in the 17th century. It was decimated by Moro raids in 1754 and was abandoned; what remained of the original poblacion is now known as Sitio Ilawod in Barangay Caraycaray, Municipality of Naval. A new poblacion was eventually transferred to a hilltop location further south, in what is now Barangay Hugpa, Municipality of Biliran, sometime between 1765 and 1775; this new poblacion was also abandoned and the coastal settlement at the foot of the hill eventually became the modern-day poblacion of the municipality that retained the Biliran name. Bohol Hispanicized rendering of bo-ol, the name of the site of the blood compact (sanduguan) between the native king Rajah Sikatuna and the Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi, which in turn may have been derived from the local term for a certain kind of small thorny tree. The island was named after this settlement, now a barangay in Tagbilaran City, the capital of the province; the province in turn was named after this main island. Bukidnon bukidnon, Cebuano for "people of the mountain," referring to the indigenous tribes inhabiting the Central Mindanao highlands. Early Spanish accounts give the name of these tribes as Buquidnones or Monteses de Mindanao ("mountain people of Mindanao"). Bukidnon eventually became the name applied to the territory they inhabited, which became a sub-province in 1907 and a province in 1914. Bulacan Journalist Robby Tantingco hypothesises that the name of the place was probably a *Hispanicized form of the word burakan, Tagalog or Kapampangan for "muddy place," referring to the marshy conditions in what is now the town of Bulakan, the former capital of the province that now bears its name. Cagayan Hispanicized form of the word kagayan, a native term meaning "place near or on a river," with the root word kagay having cognates in many Austronesian languages as a term for "river," referring to the main river of northeast Luzon. Early Spanish accounts consistently call the river and the surrounding countryside Cagayan or Cagaian, thereby making the folk etymology katagayan ("place of tagay trees") erroneous. Camarines (Norte and Sur) Plural form of the Spanish word camarín, the term used by the Spaniards to refer to the storage sheds (kamalig) that were abundant in the fertile and densely populated Bicol River plain in what is now Naga City and central Camarines Sur. Camiguin Hispanicized corruption of the word kamanigin, a local word of obscure origin, rendered in early Spanish accounts as Camaniguin, perhaps derived from the Manobo word for "to climb"Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database – Word: to climb (and in extension, "high elevation,") referring to the tall mountains of the island. Another possible meaning is "showy," in recognition of the prominence of the island's tall mountains when viewed on the horizon. Capiz