Novato (new, beginning anything, but possibly in this case a surname). The exact origin of the name of this California town has not been ascertained. The place is in Marin County and as there was a land grant there called El Rancho de Novato, the probabilities are that it is a surname of some family of early settlers.
Noyo, is in Mendocino County. It was the Indian name of a creek, not the one now bearing the name of Noyo, but of another one in the vicinity.
Nuestra Señora del Refugio (our lady of refuge).
Nuevo (new). In San Diego County.
Oakland was originally called Las Encinas (the oaks), having been named by the commandante at Monterey as a result of the report of Lieutenant Vallejo of the great number of those trees growing upon the spot.—(Memoirs of the Vallejos, edited by James H. Wilkins, San Francisco Bulletin, January, 1914.)
Océano (ocean), near San Luís Obispo.
Ojai, the name of a former Indian village in Ventura County, popularly translated as “nest” or “big tree,” neither of which can be looked upon as authentic. According to Professor A. L. Kroeber, the meaning of the word Ojai is “moon.”
Los Ojitos (little springs). See page [58].
Ojo de Agua (spring of water). See pages [59] and [340].
Ojo de Agua de Figueroa (spring of Figueroa), the last word being a surname. The Figueroa family were among the earliest settlers.