[3] Formerly known as Bahra, the municipality is named after Ternate island of Indonesia where migrants from then Dutch East Indies originated.

The town is named after the Indonesian island of Ternate, which was the homeland of settlers in the region in the late 1600s (as refugees from the Moluccas).

In 1663, the Spanish garrison in Ternate were forced to pull out to defend Manila against an impending invasion by Koxinga on the Kingdom of Tungning in modern Taiwan, sacrificing the Moluccas to the Dutch.

[7] Among them was their ruler, Sultan Said Din Burkat, who deported to Manila together with his entourage and family and later converted to Christianity.

Today, the descendants of the Merdicas continue to speak their Spanish creole (with Portuguese and Papuan influences), which came to be known as Ternateño Chabacano.

In addition to Tagalog, the community continue to use one of several Spanish-based creole varieties found in the Philippines, collectively known as Chabacano (Ternateño Chavacano); locals, however, call this vernacular simply as Bahra.