Ballona
# Ballona

Ballona is a geographic place name in the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California.

Geographic place names:

* Ballona Creek
   * Ballona Creek Bike Path
* Ballona Wetlands
* Ballona Lagoon

Historic places:

* Rancho La Ballona
* La Ballona Township
* La Ballona station (1870s to 1890s)
* Port Ballona

School:

## Place name origin

The origin of the unique toponym Ballona is much disputed and possibly unknowable. Various theories have been exchanged for more than 150 years.

* 1875: Misspelling of Ballena, Spanish word for whale (various dead whales did wash up near Ballona during the 19th century), or misspelling of Spanish “valle” meaning valley
* 1893: An introduction to Southern California in the Los Angeles Herald noted “Ballona, meaning and derivation unknown; not Spanish.”
* 1939: “The origin of the word Ballona is in doubt.” Discounts whale theory; Cristobal Machado, an heir of the rancho family, suggests it’s somehow derivative of “bay”
