Sabah Archives director Datu Tigabelas Zainal Abidin offers another candidate--Deasoka.
The native name, meaning "below the coconut tree" in the Bajau dialect, was apt because the area by the shore teemed with coconut trees which provided shade for kampung houses, water wells and petty trading.
Api Api was a name that came about later as it was a settlement near the Api Api river, Datu Tigabelas said, while Singgahmata was used by the British, using a Bajau dialect term to describe "pleasing to the eye."
Kota Kinabalu, which was known as Jesselton until 1967, was located at the Deasoka area, he said.
The British built up Kota Kinabalu as a port town before it was made Sabah's capital after World War II.
Jesselton came into existence between July and October 1899, and was named after the then vice-chairman of the British North Borneo Chartered Company.
At that time, the administrative centre was located at Gantian in Menggatal. It was shifted to Jesselton on Oct 9, 1900.
Datu Tigabelas said he based his conclusions on the recorded memoirs of H.S. Haynes, the Gantian district officer, published in the company's British North Borneo Herald.
The report states: "On Dec 6, 1899, he (Haynes) and Commissioner (Henry) Walker went to a place called Deasoka, the site of the Jesselton new town. He also reported that Deasoka was a flat area of about 30 acres located north of Sungai Api Api. The flat area was said to be more then six chains wide and half a mile long."
The name Api Api is believed to be the local name of the common Avicenna tree which was found in abundance in the area. It is popularly believed to be the original name of Kota Kinabalu.
The original name of the settlement will remain a topic of discussion as Kota Kinabalu celebrates its elevation to city status today.