I remember hearing a tale by a local fisherman back in 2005 when I took my first trip to Isla Mujeres Mexico. Isla Mujeres (pronounced "eezla moo-hair-ez) is just a 25 minute ferry ride from Cancun Mexico and totally worth a goal for your bucket list.
The fisherman was of Mayan/Mexican descent and spoke both languages. I do not know if this story is actually factual but I believed him.
When the Spanish Armada eventually explored the Caribbean they eventually came upon this small island off the coast. What they noticed was that the indigenous Mayan woman had small canoes and had paddled over from the mainland. The women were mostly naked as well. Supposedly the lookout in the crows nest yelled to the captain in spanish, "es una isla de mujeres!" Translated: It's an island of women!
I'm fairly sure the captain issued orders to have the island thouroughly searched but this is unsubstantiated. However the name stuck... Isla Mujeres (Isle or Island of Women).