The origin of the name of the square is uncertain: there is an etymology that derives “people” from the Latin populus (poplar), based on the tradition that there was, in the area, a grove of poplars belonging to the tomb of Nero, which was there near. It is historical news, however, that Pope Paschal II had a chapel built close to the walls, at the expense of the Roman people (the one on which the current church of Santa Maria del Popolo would later rise): the Madonna was of the people, the People became the square.
