Rancho Los Alamitos takes its name from a Mexican land grant in southwestern Los Angeles County and northwestern Orange County, California. Los Alamitos means the Little Cottonwoods or Poplars in Spanish, after the native Fremont Cottonwood trees there.
Rancho Los Alamitos originally included much of present-day eastern Long Beach and all of the Orange County cities/communities of Los Alamitos and Rossmoor and most of Seal Beach, Cypress, Stanton and Garden Grove in Southern California. It is also sometimes referred to as Bixby Ranch, after its last private owners. The early 19th century adobe ranch house, still stands today, housing a museum which presents the history of the area.