Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, Bulakan, as well as the rest of the towns of Bulacan province was consisted of small scattered settlements of villages each then called ""balangay"" or ""barangay"" a word derived from the name of the boats used by the early seafaring Malays who went to various islands of what now called Philippines. The villages and barangays were headed by a petty chieftain who bore the title of ""Gat"" or ""Lakan"". These early settlers lived along the seashores and rivers, thus they were called ""taga-ilog"", meaning people who dwell near the rivers or other waterways. From this term ""taga-ilog"" came the word ""Tagalog"".