When conquistador Gil Gonzalez Dávila
entered Nicoya in 1523, it was the largest cacicazgo (chiefdom) on the Pacific
coast of Costa Rica. Though it is often surmised that the city and peninsula of
Nicoya derive their name from a cacique Nicoa (or Nicoya) who welcomed Dávila
and his men, actually Nicoya took its name from two Nahuatl Necoc Yaotl that
means literally "between two waters", referencing Nicoya is located
between two major rivers in the area. The Peninsula de Nicoya shares its name
with the city of Nicoya, the most important in the area.
