Albay

From Spanish Albay, as in al (“the”) + baye (“bay”), or in longer variant names, La Baye la baye ("The Bay of Baye" or Bay la Bay ("Bay of Bay") as in Olivier van Noort's 1602 Map of La Baye la baye (Albay), where the first baye or bay is an old variant spelling of Spanish bahía (“bay (geographical feature)”), but the second baye or bay refers to its previous derivation from Spanish Al Baybay, which itself came from Spanish al (“the”) + Central Bikol baybay (“shore”), where finally, it was simplified or shortened to just its present form to do away with any confusion. The name originally referred to the coastal settlement of Sawangan, now the port district of Legazpi City. In April 3, 1574, the place used to also be called “Baybayon”, which became an encomienda assigned by Philippine Governor-General Guido de Lavezaris to Juan Guerra. In time, the name was also later applied to the province over which the town of Albay (now Legazpi City) served as the capital.