Coat of Arms of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico Tile

Aguadilla is a shortening of the town's original name San Carlos de La Aguadilla. The name Aguadilla is a diminutive of Aguada, which is the name of the town and municipality located to the south. Some of the municipality's nicknames are: Jardín del Atlántico ("Garden of the Atlantic"), Pueblo de los Tiburones ("Shark Town") and La Villa del Ojo de Agua ("Villa of the Water Spring") after the natural water spring that was used by early settlers and Spanish soldiers as a water source which is now located in El Parterre Square in Aguadilla Pueblo.