Liguanea (/ˈlɪɡəniː/ LIG-ə-nee) is an area of the island of Jamaica. Its name came from the language of the Arawak people[1] who currently inhabit some of the island's rural areas in Cornwall County.[2][3] and named it after the iguana lizard that is endemic to the island, revered reptiles whom is known for its ability to camouflage itself amongst its background to appear as if it is not there, a tactic later learned and practiced by the aboriginals in hunting and their games of hide and seek..
Geographically Liguanea was the whole parish of todays St. Andrew parish named St. Andrew after the English take over of the islands from the Spanish, the Liguanea Plains are the fertile flat lands of alluvium spreading south towards Kingston Harbour, but the area today now known as Liguanea is now only a small part of the Kingston Corporate Area, a section of itself and now named the parish of St Andrew. From a socioeconomic point of view, Liguanea is the name of a distinct commercial district: east to west, between Half-Way-Tree (up to Jamaica House) and Papine (at UTech's front gate); north to south, between Millsborough (Barbican Road) and New Kingston (Mountain View Road to Trafalgar Road).
The heart of the Liguanea suburban commercial district is Matilda's Corner, the only intersection of Hope and Old Hope Roads. Activities here serve the immediate neighbourhoods as well as the adjoining area of Papine. The origin of the name Matilda's Corner is unknown. Enclosing residential areas include Mona, Wellington, Mona Heights, Hope Pastures, Trafalgar Park, and Beverly Hills. The "small communities", also known as ghettoes or "deep urban areas", nearby are Sandy Gully, Stand Pipe and Chambers Lane/Air Pipe.