Editing Panama (section)

==Etymology==
The exact origin of the name "Panama" remains uncertain, with several theories proposed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/Panama |title=Panama |language=en |access-date=May 7, 2025 }}</ref>

* [[Sterculia apetala]] ([[Sterculia apetala|Panama tree]]): One theory suggests that the name derives from the Sterculia apetala tree, commonly known as the Panama tree, which is native to the region and holds national significance. This tree was declared the national tree of Panama by Cabinet Decree No. 371 on November 26, 1969.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://places.behindthename.com/name/panama |title=Meaning, origin and history of Panama |language=en |access-date=May 7, 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-09-15 |title=Árbol Nacional de Panamá: Sterculia apetala |url=https://biota.wordpress.com/2007/09/15/arbol-nacional-de-panama-sterculia-apetala/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Biota Panama |language=es}}</ref>
* "Many butterflies": Another theory posits that "Panama" means "many butterflies" in an indigenous language, possibly [[Guarani language|Guaraní]] or another native tongue. This interpretation is linked to the observation that early settlers arrived during August, a time when butterflies are particularly abundant in the area.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Campbell |first=Mike |title=Meaning, origin and history of the place name Panama |url=https://places.behindthename.com/name/panama/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Behind the Name |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Guna Yala|Guna]] language "bannaba": A further hypothesis is that "Panama" is a [[Hispanicization|Castilianization]] of the Guna word "bannaba," meaning "distant" or "far away."<ref name="PAN">{{cite web|url=http://www.pa/secciones/informacion/significado.html |title=Origen del Nombre Panamá |publisher=República de Panamá |access-date=July 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214054429/http://www.pa/secciones/informacion/significado.html |archive-date=February 14, 2007}}</ref><ref name=":3" />

A widely recounted legend holds that "Panamá" was the name of a fishing village encountered by [[Spaniards|Spanish colonists]], purportedly meaning "abundance of fish." While the precise location of this village is unknown, the legend is often associated with accounts from Spanish explorer Antonio Tello de Guzmán, who in 1515 described landing at an unnamed indigenous fishing village along the [[Pacific coast]]. Subsequently, in 1517, Spanish lieutenant [[Gaspar de Espinosa]] established a trading post at the site, and in 1519, [[Pedro Arias Dávila]] founded [[Panama City]] there, replacing the earlier settlement of [[Santa María la Antigua del Darién]].<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Narrative of the Proceedings of Pedrarias Davila/Narrative of Pascual de Andagoya - Wikisource, the free online library |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Narrative_of_the_Proceedings_of_Pedrarias_Davila/Narrative_of_Pascual_de_Andagoya |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=en.wikisource.org |language=en}}</ref>