La Pinta, la Niña y la Santa María

La Pinta, la Niña y la Santa María
 

Hi,

Of the three, la Pinta sounds a bit cryptic. What does this all-purpose word mean, when employed as the name of a ship?

Pinta/Pinto means spotted or painted. It can be used for a variety of things. I've heard it used as a horse's name.

The names of ships, or land property (even towns) often depend a lot on anecdotes, prominent features, or mere whims by local powerful people.


According to the museum dedicated to this ship, the accepted story is that the ship may have belonged to a family named Pinto, so that's where the name seems to come from.