San Francisco, California was named Nova Albion by Sir Francis Drake, around 1780. July 9, 1846, Captain John B. Montgomery renamed it Yerba Buena (an alternative form of hierba buena, meaning "good herb" and referring to the local plant yerba buena of the mint family).

It was finally renamed San Francisco, after Saint Francis of Assisi, on January 30, 1847.

Yerba Buena Island, sits in the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland.