The city is named in honor of the football club Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, from Bergamo in Italy, which in 1963 had won the Coppa Italia. The name was suggested at a meeting just before the city's official founding by settler José Paglioli, who claimed to have grandparents from "Atalanta" in Italy, whose club had just won that year's Coppa Italia. Although it was later discovered that this was a mistake and that Paglioli confused Bergamo with the city's club, Atalanta.[6][7]
^"Divisão Territorial do Brasil" (in Portuguese). Divisão Territorial do Brasil e Limites Territoriais, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). July 1, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2009.