The ship's name was taken from Lusitania, an ancient Roman province on the west of the Iberian Peninsula--the region that is now southern Portugal and Extremadura (Spain). Her sister ship, Mauretania, was named for the ancient land on the nearby northwest African coast. The name Lusitania had also been used by a previous ship built in 1871 and wrecked in 1901, making the name available from Lloyd's for Cunard's giant.

Peskett