The name of Palma has been involved in some controversy with time, which now is supposed to be made out with with Palma been the official name in all fields, without the add on “de Mallorca” (of/from Mallorca).

Romans, who founded the city, denominated it Palma, and this was its name for centuries, until the Muslim domination when it was renamed as Madina Mayurqa, which in Arab means Mallorca city. In other languages it was known as well by the same name as the island, that is Mallorca. So it was called, well into the eighteenth century. The ambiguity created by this fact, under the mane Mallorca, which gave rise to the city being often called Ciutat de Mallorca (Mallorca city in Catalan). In fact, even today, among the mallorcans of the Part Forana (the entire island except Palma), it is common to refer to Palma as Ciutat. This is not surprising, if we bear in mind that throughout the island, there is no other city of similar importance.

With the decree of Nueva Planta in the eighteenth century, from Madrid, was recovered the original name of Palma. But it seems that to distinguish it form Las Palmas and La Palma in the Canary Islands, the central governing bodies began to us Palma de Mallorca, a term that despite not having being used between mallorcans well into the 20th century, eventually was imposed.

Already in 1998, the government of the Balearic Islands, issued a decree establishing the official name of the places in the islands, giving Palma to the city of Mallorca, although it was not until this year, in which the Spanish government has not adapted to this law. This implies that in may places where is now being used Palma de Mallorca, will have to be removed the add on “de Mallorca”, for example at airports. So if you have an airplane ticket to come over here, be careful not to be confused with Palma and Las Palmas or La Palma in the Canary Islands, as the Castilian bureaucrats of the eighteenth century. Just in case, take note of our airport code, that is PMI.

This article is based on the writings of Gabriel Bibiloni, a linguist and professor at the University of the Balearic Islands.

Tags: history, news

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