As a result of former Spanish and, later, Mexican sovereignty over lands that are now part of the United States, there are many places in the country, mostly in the southwest, with names of Spanish origin.
Florida and Louisiana also were at times under Spanish control, as were California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and portions of western Colorado.
There are also several places in the United States with Spanish names as a result of other factors.
Some of these names have retained archaic Spanish spellings.
Spanish-sounding place names are classified into four categories: This is not an exhaustive list.