Toponyms of Tarlac

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     Recollecting of the native beginning of Tarlac, the majority of its towns and towns are aboriginally named dependent on faunal, flower and geological nature. The spot names show the pre-memorable states of Tarlac. The names likewise give the resourcefulness of the early individuals of Tarlac as respects their lifestyle, traditions, customs, mores, and other social components that aided form their identity of what Tarlac is about these days.


TARLAC
    Tarlac (Themeda Arundinacea(Roxb.) Ridl.) is a type of wild grass that grows in moist, sloping hilly areas selectively and abundantly. Tallak is the indigenous name for the reed, which is also known as tanglar among Ilocanos and malatarlak among Kapampangans. The word Tarlac is an orthographic term that was most likely coined by Spaniards. The Filipinos' early orthography uses k, Tarlak, instead of c. The letter c came from the Spanish.

Tarlac City
    The capital of Tarlac, has a number of indigenous villages or barangays where the names are mostly floral origin.

Barangays:
  • Agoho or agoo (Casuarina equistifolia Linn.) – is commonly called aguso.
  • Amucao (Musa errans Blco.) – is a wild banana plant with plentiful seeds, it is also called sagin butulan or butuan.
  • Balete (Ficus benjamina Linn.) – is popularly described as dwelling place of dwarf-like spirits (nunu) and ghost (maglalage).
  • Balibago (Hibiscus tiliaceus Linn.)
  • Balanti (Homolanthus populneus Geisel.)
  • Baras-baras (Euonymus cochinchinensis Pierre)
  • Capehan (Coffea arabica Linn).
  • Bantog or buntog (Dysoxylum decandrum Merr.) – is a tree. Buntog is a tree reaching a height of 10 to 20 meters, and the juice of the fresh bark is bitter and commonly used for coughs.
  • Care (Cajanus cajan) – is pigeon pea.
  • Batang-batang (Cissampelos paraeria Linn) – species of vines.
  • Tariji (tari-tari-Blechum pyramidatum Lam.) – species of vines.
  • Binauganan (bayug or baugin-Bambusa arundinacea Vill.) – is a strong bamboo used for making houses, decorations, and handicrafts.
  • Dalayap (Citrus aurantifola Swingle) – is a fragrant lime used in leche flan making.
  • Ungot (Coco nucifera Linn.) – is the source of virgin oil (larung ungut) and its latik is commonly used dressing rice cake (kalame) dressing.
  • Banaba (Legerstroemia speciosa Linn.) – is an excellent medicinal plant for curing kidney problems and is called mitla among the Kapampangans.
  • Matatalaib (talaib-Saccharum spontaneum Linn. Subsp. Indicum Hack.) – is called palat or cogon, and is commonly used in cubed house (bale kubo) making.
  • Maliwalo – means plenty of catcher fish that commonly thrives in rivers, ditches, irrigation canals and rice paddies. Catcher fish have sharp fins that can cause fever when accidentally pricked by them.
  • Calingcuan (extreme curved line)
  • Sepung Calsada (end of the road)
  • Salapungan (junction, cross road)
  • Burot (probably burol, hill).
  • Panampunan – derived its name from the Kapampangan word apun (to take shelter); hence, panampunan literally means a sheltering site for people or animals.
  • Tibag – connote soil erosion.
  • Tibagan – connote soil erosion. Both barangays(Tibag and Tibagan) are prone to erosion because they are situated along Tarlac River.
  • Sapang Maragul – means wider river.
  • Sapang Tagalog – is a narrow river.
  • Balingcanaway – is believed to be a species of bird. However, it is also possible that balingcanaway is balingcawayan (Pittosporum pentandrum Blanco Merr.). It is a tree, which occasionally reaches a height of 20 meters. The whole tree is smooth except for the inflorescence. Women, following childbirth, use its leaves in their bath.
  • Mapalacsiao– refers to baggase (bagasu).
  • Paraiso (Lygodium japonicum) – is commonly called anay or miracle tree.
  • Carangian – is a medicinal plant that gets its name from the Persian word karanian (Ouratea angustifolia Vahl.). The plant is smooth, thin, and has a large number of branches. It has numerous yellow flowers that are very small, and its seeds are erect with a green embryo. The roots and leaves are bitter and are used as a tonic and to treat stomach aches in the form of a decoction.
  • Bora – probably derived its name from the large fern borador (Cibotium barometz Linn.). The plant's stipes reach a height of one meter or more and are coated in thick yellow hairs at the base. The rhizomes' long hairs are used as a styptic, coagulating the blood and stopping hemorrhages.
  • Cutcut – refers to the old graveyard of the town of Tarlac.
  • Laoang – or lawa means lagoon or river.
  • Ligtasan (v. to escape safely, adj. safe, n. safety) – means safety place.
  • Mabini – means plenty of seeds or seedlings.
  • Maligaya and Mapalad – both barangay means connote fortune, luck, or wellness.
  • Culipat – is believed to be a bird.
  • Villa Bacolor and Sinait – were named after the pioneering settlers of the villages. The pioneering settlers were from Bacolor, Pampanga, and Sinait, Ilocos Sur respectively.
  • Molave – is a village of San Isidro is also called bulaon (Vitex parviflora Juss.).
  • Lalam Goma – was named after the rubber tree (Habea brasiliensis Mull.). A popular place in Matatalaib.
Sources: 

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