Bonnie Kay Wright, age 10, of Tucson, Arizona, for her question:

How did California get its name?

There are several theories about the name California, and none of them can really be proved. But we are certain about some things. Way back in 1542, the name California appeared in a Spanish document. And the Spaniards had explored California before then.

The historian Edward Everett Hole finally tracked down the most gonerally accepted theory of how the Spaniards got the name California.

A Spaniard named Ordonez de Montulvo wrote a popular novel called, "The Deeds of Esplandian." It told of a fabulous, never‑never island that resembled Paradise. Ordonez called his fictional island "California". The lovely sounding word was fashionable when the Spaniards were exploring the western coastal region ‑ which they then thought was an island. To them it seemed a good idea to name it for the fabulous land in Ordonoz's popular novel.

Though it got its beautiful name more than 400 years ago, California did not get its nickname until after 1848. This was the year of the Gold hush, after which California became known as the Golden State.