What do the names of each of the United Mexican States mean

Mexico is a federation of 31 states and the capital, Mexico City. It is recognized as one of the culturally richest countries in the world and its nature is also breathtaking. The name of each of its cities came from the mix between the civilizations that lived in the region and the Spaniards who conquered it. Some names are related to geographical features and others are references to important historical characters. Regardless of origin, each state is unique because it hides a great history that defines and characterizes it.

O awesome.club decided to better understand the names of the United Mexican States to know their origins and their meanings. Check it out right now and learn a little more about this amazing country.

The state received this name because in the region there is a large amount of thermal waters used by the population. On October 22, 1575, the place was named Villa de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de las Aguas Calienteswhich aimed to protect and give asylum to people who traveled the Silver Routea path that goes from Zacatecas to Mexico City.

It is said that the Spaniards named it after an imaginary place that appeared in the book Las sergas de Esplandián, by the author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. In it, there is a reference to an island inhabited only by women. It is likely that the conquistadors thought the area was an island and hence the name. However, the exact reason is not known.

This name comes from the Maya, in which Can Pech means “snake and tick”, or “place of snakes and ticks”. Some people think the word came from kin pech ahon what Kin means “Sun”, pech is a reference to “tick” and ah refers to “place”, which would mean “place of Mr. Sun tick”.

When the Spaniards arrived in the region, they founded two cities and named them after chiapa de indios (now known as Chiapa de Corzo) and Chiapa de los Españoles (currently called San Cristobal de Las Casas🇧🇷 The name of this state is of Nahuatl origin and comes from the word Chiapan, which means “on the river of chia”. This is the term that the Aztecs chose to name an indigenous city located on the banks of the Grijalva River, where chia was cultivated. Over time, the word changed until it reached Chiapas🇧🇷

There are 5 interpretations for this word: 4 are of Tarahumara origin and one is of Nahuatl origin. The latter is the most accepted among historians and suggests that chihuahua came from the term Xicahua, which means “dry or sandy thing.” The other theories indicate that the name of this state could be a reference to:

“Where the dogs bark”, because in the region there were many xoloitzcuintles, Mexican dogs of the “Mexican naked” breed that barked all the time. “By the two waters”, because of the division of the word chihuahua in chi (place), and the two syllables hua (Water). However, it turned out that this interpretation was not the correct one because “two waters” is translated as okubawiki in rarámuri (or tarahumaras), which bears no resemblance to the term that names the state. “Place of pierced stone”, which is not possible because “stone” is translated as reheque and “pierced”, as ehuarame.

This name may have come from different words. One theory says that coahuila comes from the terms Coatl (snake) and Huiliana (crawl). Through this interpretation, the result would be “a place where snakes crawl”. The etymology of the word was studied and a theory emerged that said the word comes from Nahuatl, but from the words Coatl and Huila, which would be a reference to the “flying viper”. According to another interpretation, the word comes from Quauitl (tree) and there (abundance).

The name derives from the Nahuatl word coliman🇧🇷 coli means “zero” or “volcano” and man is a reference to a “dominant hand”. The result would be something like “place where the God of fire rules”. Another interpretation says that the name comes from the Nahuatl word Acolmanwhich means “place where the water goes around”.

According to an encyclopedia in Mexico, Durango means “after the water”, and comes from Euskera, the ancestral language of the Basques. Francisco de Ibarra, a Spanish conquistador, decided to name the place in memory of a place of the same name in the province of Vizcaya. On the other hand, there is a possibility that this word could mean “flat and fertile land”.

“Guanajuato” comes from the word Quanaxhuato, which in purépecha is a reference to “mountainous place of frogs” or “place of many zeros”. Members of this community named places based on the number of animals, plants or other objects there. They thought that only frogs could survive in this region.

The name of this state came about in recognition of the insurgent Vicente Guerrero, who distinguished himself during the war of independence and was the second president of Mexico. Out of the entire country, Guerrero is the only state named after a ruler. The name was given on the same date of its foundation: October 27, 1849.

The word “Hidalgo” (fidalgo) is a reference to a member of the nobility or someone with noble gestures. The state was named after Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, known as “the father of the country” and initiator of Mexico’s independence. The city received its name on January 16, 1869, the date on which a decree was signed confirming the creation of the federative entity of Hidalgo.

“Jalisco” derives from the Nahuatl word Xallixcowhich can be divided into 3 terms: shalli (sand), ixtli (face or surface) and with (place). Therefore, the meaning of the name is “sandy place” or “on the surface of sand”. Until 1876, people wrote “Xalisco”, because the X was used to represent the sound of J. That was until the letter was incorporated into the Latin alphabet.

Its meaning is related to 3 terms in Nahuatl: metztli (Moon), xictli (navel) and with (place). Therefore, the meaning of “Mexico” would be “in the navel of the Moon”. This name was given because of the lakes in the region, which look like the spots of the Moon.

“Michoacán” comes from the Nahuatl word michihuacan, which means “place of fishermen”. Another theory says that the name could come from the term tarasco michmacuan, which means “place with water”. This name was given because the first to arrive in the region built the city around the lakes that surround it.

Before having that name, the place was called “Nochtitlán”, in which nightli can be interpreted as “tuna” and tlan such as “where” or “between”. Therefore, the name can mean “where there is tuna” or “among tunas”. Over time, they decided to change the name to “Morelos”, in honor of José María Morelos y Pavón, one of the most recognized heroes of Mexican independence.

“Nayarit” means “son of God, who is in the sky and in the Sun”. The word comes from Cora, a language spoken by the ethnic group that is widely known as the Cora. The king of this community was known as Naye, Nayar or Nayarit. The state adopted the name of this famous legislator with the intention of recognizing him, since he was revered by his people.

The name of this state was imposed by the Spaniard Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva in 1579, who wanted to pay homage to the Kingdom of León, where Felipe II of Spain was born. He just added the word “Nuevo” (new) and the name was given.

The Nahuatl term Huāxyacac was given by the Aztecs. Huax refers to “huaje” (in Spanish, a reference to a plant found in the valleys), yaca means “nose” or “tip” and ç it’s equivalent to tepec, which means “place”. Therefore, “Oaxaca” can be interpreted as “at the tip of the huajes”.

This name is a reference to Friar Toribio de Benavente, who wrote the essay for the puebla de los angeles, in which he told the story of a new conquest for the Spaniards. Afterwards, the state received the title of city ​​of los angeles and finally received the name of Puebla de Zaragoza by Benito Juarez.

It is believed that this word came from purépecha crettarothat means place of peñas🇧🇷 However, some theories argue that the term could come from the otomi and refer to a great ball game.

This state was named after Andrés Quintana Roo, a politician, writer, poet and journalist who participated in the Mexican independence act. On the other hand, as the region was inhabited by the Mayans, many places were named after that civilization.

Originally, the region was known as San Luis Mesquitique🇧🇷 The name of the state is a tribute to Louis IX, King of France. However, as the region resembles the mining region of Potosí in Bolivia, it was named San Luis Potosi.

One theory considers Sinaloa a derivation of the Cahita language, spoken by the indigenous peoples of the same name who inhabited the state. According to this interpretation, the term arose from fatewhich means “pitahaya” and from lobola, which is a reference to the word “round”. Therefore, Sinaloa would be “Round Pitahaya”. However, another theory about the origin of this word indicates the possibility of a derivation from the Cahita, Tarascan and Nahuatl languages. The terms fortune, ro and atl would lead to the meaning “place of pitahayas in the water”.

One of the hypotheses about the origin of this term is in the word señora (lady, in Spanish), name used by the Spaniards when they arrived at the Yaqui River. As people who lived in the region could not pronounce the word, it became Senora🇧🇷 Another theory says that the indigenous people who lived in the region lived in huts called sonot🇧🇷

Among the different possible interpretations for this name there is one that indicates that it derives from the indigenous Tabscoob, who ruled the region when the Spaniards arrived. Another theory argues that the term came from the Mayan word tab-uaxac-coh, which means “our lord, the one of the 8 lions”. Some people also believe that the name is related to the Nahuatl term Tlahuashcowhich means “place that has an owner”.

The name comes from the huasteco Tamaolipa, which means “place where there are high mountains”. However, some people argue that it derives from Tamholipamon what Tam is a reference to “place where” and holipa to “pray a lot”, which would mean “a place where people pray a lot”.

The term comes from the Nahuatl tlaxcalli, which means “tortilla”. When it was changed to Tlaxcala🇧🇷