 The district was originally called "Santa Ana de Sapa "after its titular patroness Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, and the Tagalog word "sapà" ("creek", "stream", "rivulet"), the local name of the main settlement in the area that sat beside a rivulet connecting to the Pasig River.Archaeological excavations of a pre-Hispanic grave site within the Santa Ana Church complex and its vicinities in the 1960s have revealed the antiquity of the district, which dates back to around 900 to 1,000 years .Chinese ceramics from the Sung and Ming dynasties have been found associated with the burials, indicating the active participation of the early communities in Santa Ana in the extensive maritime trade around Southeast Asia and China from 12th to 15th century AD, as well as the elaborate mortuary practices of its inhabitants.