Originally, the city of San Juan was called Puerto Rico meaning "rich port", and the entire island was called San Juan. The capital and the island's names were later accidentally switched.

Today, San Juan serves as one of Puerto Rico's +show all most important seaports, and is the island's manufacturing, financial, cultural, and tourism center. Half of the population of Puerto Rico lives and works in San Juan. The city has been the host of numerous important events within the sports community, including the 1979 Pan American Games, 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games, 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics and the Caribbean Series. -show less