Languages of Catalonia
According to the government of Catalonia, Spanish, locally known as Castilian, is currently the most spoken language in Catalonia (45.9% daily users of Spanish vs. 35.6% daily users of Catalan vs. 11% daily users of both Spanish and Catalan) and especially in the Barcelona metropolitan area, as well as native language and usual language of many Catalan citizens. This language is widely prevalent in the press, cinema and in daily life.
Catalonia
The name Catalonia—"Catalunya" in Catalan, spelled "Cathalonia", or "Cathalaunia" in Medieval Latin—began to be used for the homeland of the Catalans ("Cathalanenses") in the late 11th century and was probably used before as a territorial reference to the group of counties that comprised part of the March of Gothia and March of Hispania under the control of the Count of Barcelona and his relatives. The origin of the name "Catalunya" is subject to diverse interpretations because of a lack of evidence.