Boca Raton

English

Etymology

From Bocaratone, from Boca Ratone Lagoon, from Spanish Boca de Ratones, from boca + ratone. Though named after Boca de Ratones, that region is actually in Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA; not Palm Beach County. Later English cartographers replaced the Spanish location at Rio Seco (Dry River) with Boca Ratone Sounde, where a lagoon was located, now called Lake Boca Raton. The original Boca de Ratones on Biscayne Bay, was an inlet (boca) with a rocky bottom, that would grind (ratonar) mooring lines.

The city of Boca Raton has a folk etymology, relating the name as "Rat's Mouth", where ratón (mouse) is mistaken for rata (rat), and boca is "mouth". This pertains to the local belief that the area hosted a pirate's lair (rats' lair), leading the city to have a pirate ship on the city seal (coat of arms).

Proper noun

Boca Raton

  1. A city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States.
    • 2025 April 11, Aaron Cooper and Rebekah Riess, “3 people killed after small plane crashes on busy Boca Raton street”, in CNN[1]:
      Three people who were onboard the twin-engine Cessna 310 when it crashed were killed, according to Michael LaSalle, assistant fire chief with Boca Raton Fire Rescue.
  2. A lagoon in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States; in full, Lake Boca Raton.

Synonyms

  • (former name of Boca Raton city) Bocaratone
  • (former name of Lake Boca Raton) Boca Ratone Lagoon, Boca Ratone Sound, Boca Ratone Sounde

Translations

Further reading