 In the Basque Country, it is a common belief the name of St. John's was given by Basque fishermen because the bay of St. John's is very similar to the Bay of Pasaia in the Basque Country, where one of the fishing towns is called St. John (in Spanish, San Juan, and in Basque, Donibane).The earliest record of the location appears as "São João" on a Portuguese map by Pedro Reinel in 1519.When the English mariner John Rut visited St. John's in 1527, he found Norman, Breton and Portuguese ships in the harbour.