Name of The Philippines
The name of the Philippines comes from the king of Spain Philip II. It was given by the Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos who named the islands of Samar and Leyte "Las Islas Felipinas" (The Philippine Islands), during his expedition in 1543. Throughout the colonial period, the name Felipinas (Philippines) was used, and became the official name of the Philippines.
There are many provinces in the Philippines with Spanish names, such as Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Isabela, Quirino, Aurora, La Union, Marinduque, Antique, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Nueva Segovia and Valle de Compostela.
Many cities, and towns are also named in Spanish, such as Medellin, Nueva Valencia, Naga City (prior to 1919 was known as Nueva Cáceres), Las Piñas, Prosperidad, Isabela City, Sierra Bullones, Angeles, La Paz, Esperanza, Buenavista, Pilar, La Trinidad, Garcia Hernandez, Trece Martires, Los Baños, and many more. There are numerous other towns and cities named after saints, such as San Fernando, Santa Rosa, Santa Rita, San José, San Juan and San Pablo, as well as after Spanish places like Santander, Sevilla, Toledo, Cádiz, Zaragoza, Floridablanca, Lucena, and Salamanca.
Other native Filipino names are spelled using Spanish orthography, such as Cagayán de Oro, Parañaque, and Cebú.
Read more about this topic: Spanish Influence On Filipino Culture