The word Alligator comes from the spanish words “El Lagarto”, which means “the lizard”. When Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon first arrived in Florida and saw them he must have said “Cojones, eso es lo que yo llamo un LAGARTO” (Holy sh*t, now that’s what I call a LIZARD). Once Florida stopped belonging to Spain and Americans started settling in, they just asked “whatcha guys call that mutha, eligarter?” Eventually, after much misspronunciation (no Spanish in schools back then), it made it’s way to present day Alligator.