The name Misamis is believed to have been derived from the Subanen word kuyamis which is a variety of coconut, the staple food of the early settlers.

During the 1750s was the time that the coastal villages in southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao suffered attacks from bands of Muslim pirates, who burned houses and crops, and captured people to be sold as slaves in Maguindanao, Sulu, Borneo or the islands now known as Indonesia.

In response, the colonial government in Manila created a flotilla and appointed a Spanish Jesuit missionary, José Ducos, as its commander.

After several successful battles against the pirates, when some peace had been restored, it was decided to build a stone fort at the mouth of Panguil Bay, at a place called Misamis, and Ducos was put in charge of the construction.

[6] In 1935, the Provincial Capitol Building, commonly called Capitolio, begun and became the seat of executive and legislative power of the province, in the town of Oroquieta.

On May 6, 1942, the Japanese Imperial forces landed in Misamis Occidental, beginning their brief occupation of the province during World War II.

The United States Forces in the Philippines under Colonel Wendell Fertig based in Misamis Occidental, was the rallying point for the guerrillas in Mindanao.

On August 24, 1981 - Members of a fanatical pseudo-religious paramilitary sect called the "Rock Christ" strafed the house of the Gumapons, a family, in Barrio Lampasan, Tudela, Misamis Occidental.

Misamis Occidental is located near the narrow strip of land linking Northwestern Mindanao, to the North-central part of the island.

Other inhabitants not native in the province include Maranaos, Maguindanaons, Tausugs, Ilocanos, Kapampangans, Bicolanos, Tagalogs, Pangasinans, Hiligaynons and Warays.

As of 2013, Roman Catholicism remains the predominant faith of the people of Misamis Occidental having 70 percent affiliation and the second most members are with the Iglesia Filipina Independiente or Aglipayan Church with 20%.

[citation needed] Poverty Incidence of Misamis Occidental Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] The province economy depends firstly on fishing, secondly on coconuts, thirdly on rice.

Historical data from the Ozamiz Port District of the Bureau of Customs show that outgoing commodities, which is mainly of coconut products, far outweigh incoming cargoes.