The Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain.

Spanish explorer Ruy

López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte and Samar
Felipinas after the then-Prince of Asturias. Eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be
used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other names
such as Islas del Poniente (Islands of the West) and Magellan's name for the islands San Lázaro
were also used by the Spanish to refer to the islands.[38][39][40][41][42]

The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of its history.
During the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the
República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the period of the Spanish–American War
(1898) and the Philippine–American War (1899–1902) until the Commonwealth period (1935–
1946), American colonial authorities referred to the country as the Philippine Islands, a
translation of the Spanish name.[29] Since the end of World War II, the official name of the
country has been the Republic of the Philippines. Philippines has steadily gained currency as the
common name since being the name used in Article VI of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, with or
without the definite article.[43]