why are guinea pigs called "guinea pigs"?

[penny]

They are not pigs nore are they from Guinea.

[Never]

The origin of the guinea pig's name isn't actually known. There are a few theories, including that when they were brought to Europe they stopped via Guinea and people were led to believe that is where they came from. Another theory is that they were given this name because the term 'Guinea' was used in English to refer to things that have come from far away.