The Guadalupe or Guadalupejo river (Spanish: Río Guadalupe) is a right hand tributary of the Guadiana, in Spain. The Francization of the toponym gave its name to the Guadeloupe island in the Caribbeans.
The name is believed to be derived from the Arabic phrase وادي اللب, wādī al-lubb, 'hidden river', or "river of the core", because the river narrows down as it flows near to the town of Guadalupe.[citation needed]
An alternative etymological explanation, which is commonly found on the internet, states that the name may have derived from the Arabic word for 'valley' or 'river' (wadi) and the Latin word lupus, meaning 'wolf'.[2] Some find it unlikely that Arabic and Latin would be combined in this way, and suggest as an alternative the Arabic "Wadi-al-lub", signifying a river with black stones in its bed.[3]
Another possibility is that it comes from وادي الحب, wādī al-hubb, meaning "River of Love".