Peña Drive is named for the Peña family; the progenitor was Juan Felipe Peña, who received a land grant from Pio Pico. The Peña Adobe still stands today, near Vacaville. The Peña family intermarried with the Vaca and Berreyessa families, for whom Vacaville and the Berryessa Valley/Lake/Dam were named. Many Peña family descendants lived in and around Davis for decades, including Galvino Peña, Jesus Peña, Narcissa Peña, Andrea (Peña) Martinez, and many others.
Peña Drive is listed in many maps as Pena Drive due to the tilde on the n.