The name of the island on which Amapala is based is due to the fact that in the 16th century a group of pirates operated by the pirate Francis Drake operated on the island, he and his men were considered by the inhabitants of the area as wild and bloody beasts , so they called the island "Cerro de El Tigre". The name Amapala derives from Nahuatl and means "close to amates", however there is another version that assures that it comes from the words "ama" (corn) and "palha" (hill) of the Goajiquiro dialect, and therefore would mean "hill of corn".