List of Mexican state name etymologies

Last updated

This article provides a collection of the etymologies of the names of the states of Mexico.

State nameLanguage of originSource wordMeaning and notes
Aguascalientes Spanishaguas calientes"Hot waters". When the city was first founded in 1575, it was given this name for the abundance of hot springs in the region, which still are exploited for numerous spas and for domestic use. The state was named after its capital city, Aguascalientes City.
Baja California Spanish"Lower California". The Spanish colony of California was divided into two—upper and lower—in 1804. See also: Origin of the name California.
Baja California Sur Spanish"Southern Baja California". The southern part of Baja California See also: Origin of the name California.
Campeche Yucatec Mayan Kaan PeechThe state takes its name from the city of Campeche, which was founded in 1540 by Spanish Conquistadores as San Francisco de Campeche atop the preexisting Maya city of Canpech or Kimpech. The native name means "place of snakes and ticks."
Chiapas Nahuatl Chiapan"Place where the chia sage grows"
Chihuahua Nahuatl xicuahua [1] The state takes its name from its capital city, Chihuahua City. This name is thought to derive from the Nahuatl Xicuahua, or "dry, sandy place". [1]
Coahuila Nahuatl coatl + huilaOrigin disputed. May mean "serpent that flies" (coatl "snake" + huila "to fly") or "place of many trees" (quautli "trees" + la "abundance")
Colima Nahuatl ColimanThe state takes its name from its capital city, Colima City.
Durango Basque The state is named after its capital city, Durango City, which was named after the city of Durango in the Basque Country, northern Spain. During colonial times it was part of the Spanish realm of Nueva Vizcaya, "New Biscay", a province of New Spain.
Guanajuato Purépecha Quanax Huato [2] [3] "Place of the monstrous frogs". [3] The state is named after its capital city, Guanajuato City.
Guerrero Spanish"Warrior". Named after Vicente Guerrero, a hero of the Mexican War of Independence and an early president of Mexico. The surname Guerrero, meaning "warrior" in Spanish, is derived from guerra "war", a Germanic loanword related to the English word war.
Hidalgo SpanishNamed after Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, considered the initiator of the Mexican War of Independence in 1810. See also: Hidalgo (nobility)
Jalisco Nahuatl Xālixco"Place with sand on the ground". [4]
México Nahuatl MēxihcoThe state is named after the Mexica.
Michoacán Nahuatl Michhuahcān"Place of possessors of fish".
Morelos SpanishNamed after José María Morelos, one of the leaders of Mexico's struggle against Spain during the War of Independence.
Nayarit Cora Naáyeri (plural: Naáyerite)"Place of Nayar", referring to a 16th-century Cora chief [5] [6]
Nuevo León Spanish"New Leon". Named after the Kingdom of León, one of the historical realms that formed Spain.
Oaxaca Nahuatl HuāxyacacAfter its capital city, Oaxaca City, whose name in turn derives from the Nahuatl for "on the nose of the huajes", huajes being a type of tree with an edible pod quite common locally.
Puebla SpanishPueblo"Town" or "the people" (that live in the town). The state is named after its capital city, Puebla City. The state name is from the verb poblar
Querétaro Purépecha Crettaro"Juego de pelota" or "cañada". [7]

The state is named after its capital city, Querétaro City.

Quintana Roo SpanishNamed after Andrés Quintana Roo, a hero from the War of Independence.
San Luis Potosí SpanishNamed after Louis IX, and the mines of Potosí in Bolivia.
Sinaloa Mayo sinalobolaOrigin of name is disputed. May mean "round pitahaya (cacti)" or "cut corn" [8]
Sonora Opata [9] xunuta [9] "In the place of the corn". [9]
Tabasco Nahuatl TlapacoThe name appears in the chronicles of Bernal Díaz del Castillo during the conquest era, who says it comes from the name of a river in the area, Tabasco River.
Tamaulipas Huasteca Nahuatl Tamaholipa"Place with high mountains". [10]
Tlaxcala Nahuatl Tlaxcallān"Place of tortillas". The state is named after the capital of Tlaxcala City, which is named after the pre-Columbian city-state of Tlaxcallan.
Veracruz Spanishvera cruz"True Cross." The state is named after the port of Veracruz City. This name was given to the first Spanish city in New Spain by Hernán Cortés in 1519, in the form La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, "The Rich Village of the True Cross".
Yucatán Chontal Maya Yokot'anAn apocryphal story goes that when the Spaniards first waded ashore on the Yucatán Peninsula, they asked the members of the local population, who were watching, "What is this place?" The local indígenas, not understanding Spanish, asked "What did you say?" (Yuca-hatlanás?). The Spanish assumed that anyone would understand their language, and took it to be the name.

Another legend has it that when Spaniards asked a local native "Where are we?", the native answered "Yuc Atan", meaning "I'm not from here", which Spaniards assumed as the name of the place.

The most likely derivation is from the native Chontal Maya people, who call themselves Yokot'anob or Yokot'an, "speakers of Yoko ochoco."

Zacatecas Nahuatl zacatēcah"People from the Place of Grass". The state is named after its capital city, Zacatecas City.

Related Research Articles

Querétaro City City and Municipality in Querétaro, Mexico

Santiago de Querétaro, known simply as Querétaro City, is the capital and largest city of the state of Querétaro, located in central Mexico. It is part of the macroregion of Bajío. It is 213 kilometers (132 mi) northwest of Mexico City, 63 kilometers (39 mi) southeast of San Miguel de Allende and 200 kilometers (120 mi) south of San Luis Potosí. It is also the seat of the municipality of Querétaro, divided into seven boroughs. In 1996, the historic center of Querétaro was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.

Guanajuato State of Mexico

Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato.

Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México

Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México was Mexico's state owned railroad company from 1938 to 1998, and prior to 1938, a major railroad controlled by the government that linked Mexico City to the major cities of Ciudad Juárez, Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros on the U.S. border. The first trains to Nuevo Laredo from Mexico City began operating in 1903.

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional Sports league

The National Professional Basketball League is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 11 teams. Despite its short history, the LNBP has established itself as the one of the most important basketball leagues in Latin America.

Bajío Region in Central Mexico

The Bajío (lowlands) is a region of Central Mexico that includes parts of the states of Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Querétaro.

Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Northernmost of Mexico City‘s four "royal roads"

The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro was a Spanish 2,560-kilometre-long (1,590 mi) road between Mexico City and San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, USA, that was used from 1598 to 1882. It was the northernmost of the four major "royal roads" that linked Mexico City to its major tributaries during and after the Spanish colonial era.

Organización Editorial Mexicana, also known as OEM, is the largest Mexican print media company and the largest newspaper company in Latin America. The company owns a large newswire service, it includes 70 Mexican daily newspapers, 24 radio stations and 44 websites.

Comonfort

Comonfort is a Mexican town and municipality in the state of Guanajuato, declared a Pueblo Mágico since 2018. It was named after Mexican general and President Ignacio Comonfort. The municipality has an area of 485.90 square kilometres and is bordered to the north and northeast by San Miguel de Allende, to the east by the state of Querétaro, to the south and southwest by, Apaseo el Grande, Celaya and Santa Cruz de Juventino Rosas, respectively. The municipality had a population of 67,642 inhabitants according to the 2005 census.

Irapuato City and municipality in Guanajuato, Mexico

Irapuato is a Mexican city located at the foot of the Arandas Hill, in the central region of the state of Guanajuato. It lies between the Silao River and the Guanajuato River, a tributary of the Lerma River, at 1,724 m (5,656 ft) above sea level. It is located at 20°40′N101°21′W. The city is the second-largest in the state, with a population of 342,561 according to the 2005 census, while its municipality has a population of 529,440. The municipality has an area of 845.1 km2 (326.3 sq mi) and includes numerous smaller outlying communities. Although it is now an important center for regional trade and transportation center as well the site of several automotive and chemical manufacturing plants, the city's main industry has historically been agriculture and it has long been known for its strawberries and the raising of pigs and cattle. The fruits and flowers of Irapuato's luxurious gardens are well known throughout Mexico.

Jilotepec de Abasolo City in State of Mexico, Mexico

Jilotepec de Molina Enríquez, known as Jilotepec de Abasolo until 1986, commonly known as Jilotepec, is a city located northwest zone of the State of Mexico in Mexico. This name comes from Náhuatl, meaning "hill of corncobs". It is the municipal seat and largest city of the municipality of Jilotepec. It is located in hilly and forested terrain an hour from Mexico City, Toluca, 40 minutes from San Juan del Río, 30 minutes from Tula and 20 from Tepeji. The Mexico City–Querétaro and the new Transoceanic Freeways converge within its territory that unite the coasts of Mexico from Veracruz to Michoacán.

San Buenaventura, Chihuahua City in Chihuahua, Mexico

San Buenaventura is a city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It serves as the municipal seat for the Buenaventura Municipality.

Maravatío is a municipality in the Mexican state of Michoacán, representing 1.17% of its land area, or 691.55 km2.

Armando Torres Chibrás Musical artist

Armando Torres Chibrás is an orchestra conductor at Pershing Middle School, with extended activities as scholar, lecturer, academic jury, author and arts leader born in Mexico City. He is currently Head of the Orchestral Academy Program of El Sistema-Mexico, an agency of the National Council for Culture and the Arts of Mexico.

Quiriego Municipality Municipality in Sonora, Mexico

Quiriego Municipality is a municipality of southern Sonora state, in northwestern Mexico.

Most Mexican states do not have an official flag. For these states, a de facto flag is used for civil and state purposes, the flags have a 4:7 proportion ratio and typically consist of a white background charged with the state's coat of arms.

References

  1. 1 2 Jimenez Gonzalez, Victor Manuel (2015). Chihuahua, Guía de viaje del Estado: Barrancas del Cobre – Tren Chihuahua al Pacífico – Ciudad Juárez, todo el Estado de Chihuahua. Solaris Comunicación. p. 47.
  2. ↑ "CIUDAD DE GUANAJUATO". gob.mx.
  3. 1 2 Meade, Julie (2016). Moon San Miguel de Allende: Including Guanajuato & Querétaro. Hachette UK. ISBN   9781631211607.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-08-13. Retrieved 2007-08-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ↑ "Nayarit". Tour by Mexico. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  6. ↑ "El Nayar". Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México. Archived from the original on 2007-05-02. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  7. ↑ Querétaro: Nomeclatura Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine . Enciclopedia de los Estados de México.
  8. ↑ http://www.sinaloa.gob.mx/NR/exeres/B1FB61DE-82E5-4EE7-AE7E-851D47307AF3,frameless.htm?NRMODE=Published [ dead link ]
  9. 1 2 3 "Sonora". Tour by Mexico.
  10. ↑ "Tamaulipas". Nations Encyclopedia.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.