The Indigenous History in Costa Rica’s Names

In Costa Rica, los nombres de los pueblos (the names of the towns) are not just labels on a map. They are echoes, distorted but stubborn, of the voices that came before. When the Spaniards marched through, they wrote what they heard — or thought they heard — bending syllables into Castilian shapes. What survived are names like Abangares, Nicoya, Barva, Aserrí, Curridabat, Térraba, Boruca, Guápiles, each one carrying the memory of a people, even if mispronounced.

The maps speak. And they whisper with Indigenous tongues that the Spanish crown never fully silenced.

Abangares

Today, Abangares is remembered for its gold mines, oro (gold), but the name itself comes from a cacique, Avancari, leader of the region when the Spaniards arrived. The conquerors, with their heavy Castilian ears, twisted Avancari into Abangares. It stuck. What remains is a Spanish reshaping of a Chorotega voice. (Fonseca, 1994).

Nicoya

Nicoya is among the most famous, named after Nicoa, a Chorotega cacique who welcomed Gil González Dávila in 1523. The Spaniards, unable or unwilling to capture the exact sound, wrote Nicoya. The town became the first colonial foothold in the region, but the name still bears the Indigenous leader’s trace, even if spelled with Iberian ink. (Molina, 2015).

Barva

Barva comes from Barvak, the Huetar chief of the Central Valley when the Spaniards arrived. Chroniclers softened the ending, rounding Barvak into Barva. Today the canton in Heredia still carries his name, but in a form more Spanish than Huetar. It’s the map’s way of remembering a warrior who defended his valley. (Fernández, 2004).

Aserrí

The canton of Aserrí, just south of San José, preserves the name of cacique Acserí, a Huetar chief. Again, the Spanish tongues clipped and altered it, smoothing into “Aserrí.” The land remembers the jefes indígenas (Indigenous chiefs) even when their names were bent. (Quesada, 2012).

Curridabat

Curridabat carries the echo of Cúridabá, another Huetar cacique. Spanish scribes rendered it with their alphabet, shifting vowels and hardening consonants until the Huetar word became “Curridabat.” Today it’s a bustling suburb of San José, but its name still tells a story of conquest and survival.

Térraba

The Térraba people are one of the surviving Indigenous groups in the south. Their name in their own tongue is Teribe, but Spanish officials reshaped it into Térraba, attaching Iberian sounds. The canton of Buenos Aires still holds this name, and the community continues to fight for recognition of their language and land. (Bozzoli, 1986).

Boruca

Boruca comes from the people themselves — though the Spaniards couldn’t pronounce the word exactly. Early chroniclers wrote it as Brunca, Borunca, until finally settling on Boruca. The community in southern Costa Rica still proudly carries the name, though the sound has shifted through colonial ink.

Guápiles

The town of Guápiles has a name wrapped in jungle and river. Scholars suggest it comes from the plural of guape, a plant or possibly a local term tied to the area. The Spaniards doubled the vowels, made it easier on their tongues, and wrote Guápiles. The Caribbean humidity kept the name alive even after its meaning blurred.

Other Corners of the Map

From Turrialba (linked to the Huetar “Tori” river and “aba” meaning land) to Orosi (from the Indigenous “Oroci,” later Hispanicized by missionaries), the pattern repeats. Spaniards heard sounds foreign to their alphabet and reshaped them into words they could write. Each canton, each río, each cerro still hides Indigenous syllables under a Spanish spelling.

Conclusion

The Spanish conquest sought to erase, to overwrite. But in Costa Rica, los nombres remain. They are not pure — they are filtered through conquistador ears, twisted into castellano. Still, when we say Abangares, Nicoya, Barva, Aserrí, Curridabat, Térraba, Boruca, Guápiles, we’re speaking across centuries.

It’s not just geography. It’s memory.

References

• Bozzoli, M. E. (1986). El indígena costarricense: Su pasado y su presente. San José: Editorial Universidad de Costa Rica.

• Fernández, L. (2004). Historia de los pueblos indígenas de Costa Rica. San José: Editorial Costa Rica.

• Fonseca, E. (1994). El legado indígena en la toponimia costarricense. San José: Editorial de la Universidad Estatal a Distancia.

• Molina, I. (2015). Costa Rica en el siglo XVI: Encuentro de pueblos y culturas. San José: Editorial UCR.

• Quesada, J. (2012). Toponimia indígena de Costa Rica. San José: Editorial Costa Rica.