There are a lot of Yorbas in Orange County. There's a Yorba Street in Orange and Santa Ana, and a Yorba Lane in Yorba Linda.

Phil Brigandi says, "Jose Antonio Yorba was one of the original Spanish soldiers here in California."

Brigandi wrote "Orange County Place Names A-Z." In 1784, he says Yorba was given land for his military service and became a cattle rancher. After his father-in-law died, he and a nephew petitioned the governor to use that land.

"They were given a concession to use all the land from the Santa Ana River, all the way down to the bay at Newport. So it's 75 thousand acres."

The next generation of Yorbas expanded their land holdings even more, so that by 1850, Brigandi says, "they could ride from he edge of what is Riverside today all the way to Newport Beach and always be on family property the whole way."

In 1868, the main rancho was broken up and sold off to the developers who would later create the cities of Orange, Santa Ana, and Tustin.

(Airdate: 5/11/08)