Origin of the name
In the Ati’s dialect, the old word borac, meant cotton in reference to its sand, which was cotton like in color and texture. Another version of the island’s naming came from an alternative meaning of borac (bubbles) and bocay (white), as the Atis elders were amazed at the resemblance of the white sand to water bubbles. The locals eventually became known as Boracaynons or the people of the Boracay.