Laguna de Bay means "Lagoon of town of Bay" for the lakeshore town of Bay (pronounced as "Bä'ï"), the former provincial capital of Laguna province. Alternate spellings of the town's name include "Bae" or "Ba-i", and in the early colonial times, "Bayi" or "Vahi". Thus, the lake is sometimes spelled as "Laguna de Bae" or "Laguna de Ba-i", mostly by the locals. The town's name is believed to have come from the Tagalog word for "settlement" ("bahayan"), and is related to the words for "house" ("bahay"), "shore" ("baybayin"), and "boundary" ("baybay"), among others. The introduction of the English language during the American occupation of the Philippines, elicited confusion as the English word "bay", referring to another body of water, was mistakenly substituted to the town name that led to its mispronunciation. However, the word "Bay" in Laguna de Bay has always referred to the town.