Caribbean Island Named By Columbus

WHY THE CARIBBEAN ISLANDS OWE THEIR BEAUTIFUL NAMES TO COLUMBUS

Island	Why Columbus Chose The Name
Montserrat	After the Monastery of Santa   Maria de Montserrat, considered the national treasure of Catalonia, Spain.
Antigua	After a Seville church   Columbus frequented, called Santa Maria la Antigua — “Old Saint Mary’s”
Redonda	Santa Maria le Redonda or   St.Mary the Round due to the island’s shape.
Nevis	Derived from the Spanish for   Our Lady of the Snows possibly because Columbus thought the clouds over Nevis   Peak made it resemble a snow capped mountain
St. Kitts	Named after his namesake and   patron of travelers St. Christopher
St. Eustatius	After an early Roman martyr
Saba	After the Queen of Sheba, an   Old Testament figure
St. Martin	Seminal early Christian   bishop, who founded parishes throughout France; Feast Day November 11
St. Croix	From the Spanish “Santa Cruz”   – “Holy Cross”
The Virgin Islands	After St. Ursula and the   11,000 virgins martyrs of early Christianity.
San Pedro	After St. Peter
Puerto Rico	Originally named after St.   John the Baptist but eventually only the capital city retained the name of “San   Juan.” The Saint’s Feast Day – June 24 – is still celebrated there.