San2
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There are at least several theories about the origin of the name of Barcelona:
1) Some based on an old legend and oral traditions say that Hercules founded the city 400 years before the building of Rome and was a small village untill the Carthaginesian era. They defend the name Barcelona originated from Barcino, and that it was probably founded by one of the Barca brothers, sons of Amilcar Barca, who were all Carthaginese generals. They are not sure if it was Magón (founder of the city of Mahón in the Baleares islands), Anibal, or Asdrubal Barca. The family was refered by other enemy families as the Barcidas and from Barcida came Barcino and hence it might come from there.
2) Others assure that it was the Romans who founded the city and no one lived there before except maybe small tribe in the early neolithic. Due to a territorial reform carried on by Augustus, the romans founded there a colony which they named Iulia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino, and it was inhabited by the barcinonensis o faventinos todays Barceloneses.
3) Other say that it has an older origin, and that it comes from the celtiberian word bardd, or barth, which later was adopted by the Romans as bardus, poet. The word bardd/bartt/barth was the name the celtic people called their poets. So Barcino would come be and old celtiberian settlement that meant place of the poets.
4) Yet other say that barcino, barcina or barceno, come from an older source : barceo, which is a type of plant, today named Espadaña in castellano, and balca in modern Catalan, it is a graminean bush very similar to esparto and with the same applications than this that apparently you can find all over the Iberian peninsula and hence barcino would mean place of barceos.
So, depends what linguistic theory you defend that you can believe one or other. The first one is more romantic. The second one is based on written documents. While 3 and 4 are based on translitarated words from an old dead written language which although the scholar know the symbols they are not sure of actual pronounciation, just an aproximation and they are no 100% sure if its correct.
So you can chose or learn all, since they all have a possible truth and are interesting.
Best regards
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