Partly because I'm lazy, and partly due to curiosity, I'd like to start a thread on why certain metro stops have their names. Now, of course stops like "Sol" and "Retiro" are obvious, but what about "Príncipe de Vergara"? And which "iglesia" is Iglesia on the 1 line named after?

Just curious...oh, by the way, there were more than ½ billion riders on the metro last year...

proxima estacion: esperanza.

Most of them have something to do with what's upstairs of course, ie the street name or the plaza, so you'll have to study the origin of street names to find out. This is a fascinating study in itself.
For example, Tirso de Molina takes its name from the square above, which takes its name from the convent which originally occupied the plaza. And inside lived the writer Tirso de Molina. The convent was demolished , like many others during the Napoleonic occupation to make way for modern open spaces (which at one point was called Plaza del Progreso). Incidentally, when work was underway on the station in 1919 or so, the workmen discovered the skeletons of the long dead monks. They merely cemented them into the walls and under the platform. The station is still said to be haunted, so don't get locked in at night....
With new stations, they're often named to commemorate a poet or some other great person, eg Miguel Hernandez.
As for Iglesia, there is a church there, but I can't remember which one right now. Principe de Vergara is on Calle Principe de Vergara, so you'll need to look into why the street is so named.
Have fun looking into this exciting subject.

The street Principe de Vergara was called General Mola during Franco's days.
Príncipe de Vergara was one of the titles of General Espartero (s.XIX), and it's in his glory that the street is called like that.
http://www.comadrid.es/gema/revista/histor7.htm
Other streets that Franco changed the name where Avda.Castellana -> Avda.del Generalísimo
Gran Vía -> Avda.de José Antonio(Primo de Rivera)
A funny thing, the street where the metro stop Lista is, isn't called Lista anymore.

Ahem! Cali.. Cali.. Cali.... Are you limiting metro stop names to ONLY the city of Madrid or including Barcelona and Almagro's new 25-station metro which opened last month?

Well if you include Barcelona, it would only be logical to include Bilbao´s Metro too! What about the names of Bilbao´s street car stops?

Cali!

... and our METRO bus service in Holmfirth stops at

'Parkhead'
'Upperthong'
'Netherthong'
'Thongsbridge'
'Choppards'

etc etc ...

and I've no idea why any of them have these names

Jo

Hey! Let's nip this in the bud right now...unless MM has changed the first M to mean "Metro", this was just to focus on Madrid. :p

As for Barcelona...only visited once, and didn't like the metro.

And Jo-Anne: The best "place name" in all of England, for my money, is Strangeways Prison near Manchester. Could a moniker be any more appropriate?

CaliBasco, let me formally welcome you to MadridMan's ALL SPAIN Message Board. (hehehe...) I'm going to update/edit your subject line to reflect the city.

I don't know about you guys, but I always think about the annoucement the Metro makes before each stop. That will be stuck in my head for the rest of my life.

Especially the Ding, dong, ding....Proxima Estacion- Sol.

Sorry, I just had to add that.