The Taíno name of the river was "Guatapaná" but the Spanish people that came to live in the Hispaniola island called it Dajabón after the Taíno name of the region ("Dahaboon"). Because this river was the border between the two colonies of the island, there were many fights during the 16th and 17th centuries and many people died here; then the French people began to name the river Massacre, written sometimes Masacre in Spanish; massacre means the killing of many people.