It is believed that the word "PANAMA" was the name of a fishing village along the Pacific Ocean coasts, nearby to what now it is known as Old Panama City.  

In the Cueva language, which was spoken by the native Indians at the time of the Spaniard arrival, "PANAMA" means "ABUNDANCE OF FISH", or "PLACE OF MANY FISH".  In 1516, the conqueror Pedro Arias de Avila sent a  letter to the King of Spain saying that Panama was a village where fishermen were called "PANAMA".

It is also believed that the word "PANAMA" comes from the Caribe language and it means "LAND OF ABUNDANT BUTTERFLIES", because it seemed that the descendants of the ancient Caribe Indians used to call "PANAMA WATERFALL" to a cascade in Brazil that was surrounded of plenty of butterflies.

Others think that the country was called "PANAMA" because the native Indians used this word in their dialect to signalize a place with "Abundance of Panama Trees", which can reach an altitude of 70 feet, and they were found in the same place where the Old Panama City was located.