Place Names of San Antonio and Bexar and Surrounding Areas: Third Edition by David P. Green is a fascinating guide to the origins of nearly a thousand familiar place names across San Antonio and the surrounding region. We encounter these names daily—on streets, schools, parks, suburbs, and landmarks—but few of us know the stories behind them.
Green, a surgeon and educator, began researching San Antonio place names in the 1970s when he noticed no one could explain who Floyd Curl was—despite the street bearing his name. That curiosity sparked years of digging into the people, history, and surprising trivia that shaped the city’s map. In this engaging handbook, readers discover everything from the cave that inspired Cave Lane to the legendary “First Lady of Song” behind Rosita’s Bridge, as well as the groundbreaking astronaut honored by a local middle school.
Organized by neighborhood and category—including military bases, libraries, parks, Spanish name origins, and even iconic local institutions like H-E-B, the Pearl, and the San Antonio Spurs—this updated third edition is an essential reference for history lovers, locals, educators, and anyone curious about the names that define San Antonio. A book you’ll find yourself consulting again and again.