The definite origin of the name ''Panama'' is unknown. There are several theories. One states that the country was named after a commonly found species of tree (''Sterculia apetala'', the Panama tree). Another states that the first settlers arrived in Panama in August, when butterflies are abundant, and that the name means "many butterflies" in one or several of the indigenous Amerindian languages that were spoken in the territory prior to Spanish colonization. The most scientifically corroborated theory by Panamanian linguists, states that the word is a castilianization of the Kuna language word "''bannaba''" which means "distant" or "far away".