In 1769, the Spanish Portola expedition traveled north through Sepulveda Pass into the San Fernando Valley and, on August 5th, the group spent two nights at a village near what is now Los Encinos State Historic Park. A Franciscan missionary traveling with the expedition, Fray Juan Crespi, named the valley “El Valle de Santa Catalina de Bolonia de Los Encinos” which translates to “The Valley of St. Catherine of Bologna of the Holm Oaks.” Over time, the name was shortened to what we now know as “Encino.”

In 1845, Rancho Los Encinos (or Ranch of Holm Oaks) was founded when a large parcel of land for Mission San Fernando was granted to three Mission Indians by governor Pio Pico. Many other ranchos were formed after the secularization of the California missions, which started in 1834. Encino gets its name from the rancho.