The etymology of the name Spain is uncertain. Some derive it from the Punic word tsepan, 'rabbit', basing the opinion on the evidence of a coin of Hadrian, on which Spain is represented with a rabbit at her feet, and on Strabo, who calls Spain "the land of rabbits". It is said that the Phoenicians and Carthaginians found the country overrun with these rodents, and so named it after them.
Patrick Ross,Country names and their etymologies, Rekram, Londres, 1998.
