Alcantara,
Alcântara (
Portuguese),
Alcántara (
Spanish),
Alcàntara,
Alcàntera,
El-Qantarah and
(El) Kantara are all transliterations of the
Arabic word
al qantara (القنطرة), meaning "the bridge". It can be found not only in Arab countries, but also in the Iberian Peninsula, where the name persisted past the
Reconquista, and
Latin America, derived from Iberian place names and other places that were under Arab influence in the past.