The name comes from Barvac or Barvak a
cacique of the area around 1569, which in turn might come from either: • From
New Tlapallan in
Nahuatl language, or
Tla pallapan, which in
Huetar language was Tabaraba or Abaraba, hispanicized as Barba and meaning
Black River or
Dark River as explained by José Fidel Tristán in 1910. •
Bar or
bur (
bees) with
ba or
bac (
tribe), meaning
Bees Tribe, as explained by bishop Bernardo Augusto Thiel y Hoffmann in late 19th century, from sources from 1575 and 1599. By Decree 188 of 4 October 1974, the name changes from
Barba to
Barva. == Geography ==