Manila

The envelope is named for a Philippine city.

The paper was made from abaca fibre exported through Manila. The city's name stuck to the envelope long after the fibre stopped being used.

Manila paper came from a banana relative, and today's envelopes contain none of it.

Manila hemp is abacá, a fiber from a banana-family plant grown in the Philippines and shipped through the capital; worn-out abacá rope was pulped into a tough, cheap paper. The color and the name outlived the material once manufacturers switched to ordinary wood pulp.

The hemp it was made from is not hemp at all; it is a banana relative.

The paper was originally made from Manila hemp, the fiber of abaca, a banana relative grown in the Philippines and shipped out through Manila. Today's manila folders are usually ordinary wood pulp dyed to the expected color, with no Philippine fiber involved.