 One popular legend ascribes its etymology to the "Salvador", a ship from the Spanish Armada that sank by the rocks near Arromanches-les-bains in 1588.It is more likely, however, that the name "Calvados" was derived from "calva dorsa", meaning "bare backs", in reference to two sparsely vegetated rocks off its shore.After the allied victory at Waterloo the department was occupied by Prussian troops between June 1815 and November 1818.