until the 20th century, the mountain lacked a single commonly accepted name but it was rather known by different names within the surrounding towns and villages, the first recorded mention of the name huascaran appeared in 1850 as huascan, name given by the local people likely because the mountain rises above the village of huashco, huashco getting its name from the quechua word for rope (waska), name popularized by antonio raimondi, a famous historical figure in peru. at the beginning of the 20th century, the name appeared as huascarán, a form which has not since changed. it seems that the name huascarán is merely a contraction of huashco-urán. when the mountain was mentioned, it was thought of in connection with the village and was called huashco-urán or “beyond and down from the village of huashco.”