for what historical figure was the city of ponce named
Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the great-grandson of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León.[note 1] Ponce is often referred to as La Perla del Sur (The Pearl of the South), La Ciudad Señorial[note 2] (The Manorial City), and La Ciudad de las Quenepas (Genip City). The city serves as the governmental seat of the autonomous municipality as well as the regional hub for various Government of Puerto Rico entities, such as the Judiciary of Puerto Rico. It is also the regional center for various other commonwealth and federal government agencies.