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The True Story of How
San Francisco Received Its Name
San Francisco – this is a derivative word from sand and Francisco. In the early
settlement of this country it was the custom of an old monk of the interior, by
the name of Jeremiah Francisco, to perform a pilgrimage to this place every
month, to visit the tomb of a brother of the order whose remains he had here
interred. The wind “blew like mad” here, and upon his return he was usually so
covered with the dust and sand, that his neighbors were unable to recognize him;
hence they soon began to call him sand Francisco.
On one of his pilgrimages he happened, by mistake, to die here, and the place
ever after was called by his name. From the difficulty of enunciating the d, it
was usually called SAN FRACNISCO, and has so continued to this day. The present
popular notion that the place was named after the St. Francis Hotel is an error!
California Weekly Courier
August 1, 1850
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