When the first settlers arrived in what was to become Palm Beach, the entire area was known as “Lake Worth”, named for Major General William Jenkins Worth who fought in the Second Seminole War.

Lake Worth, both the city in Florida and the lagoon it borders, was named in honor of Major General William Jenkins Worth. General Worth was a prominent military figure who led United States Army forces during the final stages of the Second Seminole War in the mid-19th century. Interestingly, while the body of water was named after him, the General himself never actually lived in the area. The name was officially bestowed upon the lagoon by military surveyors during the war, and it stuck as the region began to see permanent pioneers in the 1870s. The city of Lake Worth Beach (formerly just Lake Worth) was later incorporated in 1912, retaining the namesake of the General. General Worth is a significant figure in American history, also having the city of Fort Worth, Texas, named after him, though his connection to the Florida coast remains his most famous legacy in the southeastern United States.