The Myrtle Beach Name.. And The Grand Strand Moniker.
The first recorded name for the Myrtle Beach area was coined by its original inhabitants – the region’s Native Americans, who called the area “Chicora,” meaning “the land.” The first European settlers to inhabit the area called it “New Town.” The settlement was eventually dubbed “Myrtle Beach,” a tribute to the wax myrtle trees common to the area… And the beach, of course.
The “Grand Strand” moniker is the handiwork of a local newspaper columnist, who in 1945 penned the name for the 60-mile stretch of coastline running from Georgetown on the southern end to Little River in the north.
