Mexica Movement: Nahuatl names, Aztec names, Mexica names

Nahuatl is just part of our heritage. It is more important to know your history and to defend your people's honor, by supporting or being part of the liberation warrior work of the Mexica Movement.

"Aztec names" may be the search term that brought you here, but the correct term is "Nahuatl names." Nahuatl is the language that most of our people spoke.

"Aztec" is a name conjured up by Europeans.
We never called ourselves Aztecs. The Spaniards never called us Aztecs.

Our name is Mexica (Meh-sheeh-kah).

Aztec refers to our people when they lived in Aztlan. In Aztlan it would have been right to have used that word. But in the 16th century, "Aztec" was a word that was no longer used because all the people who came from Aztlan now called themselves Mexica, Tlaxcallan, Texcoco, Tlacopan, or any other of the names of the cities in which they lived.

Please read the history below so that you will have a good understanding of the Nahuatl names you will be choosing for yourself or for your child.

On Taking A Nahuatl Name

Keep the following things in mind:

1) Know at least the basic history, theology, Nahuatl language and heritage of our people before you take on a Nahuatl name; so that when you take a Nahuatl name or give one to your child you will be able to pronounce the name properly, know the meaning, history, and reason for giving your child that Nahuatl name.

2) The main reason for taking off your Spanish or English name or giving one to your child, and taking on a 100% Nican Tlaca (Indigenous) name, should be that you are doing an ethnic correction to yourself or to your child.

You are not Spanish or English. You want to stop being false to yourself and to the world.

You should go through legal means to achieve this: social security cards, drivers licence, credit cards, etc. You are only kidding yourself if you say that you don't need "Legal" recognition. This "legal thing" can be done with minimal expense if you have few assets and you are young or it can be a little more involved if you own a home and have to tell everyone at work that this is your Nahuatl name (your only name) from now on. You have liberated yourself from European control over your name.

3) The next big reason for changing your name to a Nahuatl (or other indigenous Anahuac) name is that it makes a statement: I am Nican Tlaca (Indigenous) and I am proud. This is who I was before the Europeans, who I am and who I will always be.

4) Once having permanently taken on a Nahuatl name, it makes takes you on a road to being a warrior for your people. That means that you will be dealing with the identity, history, and heritage of our people on a daily basis. You will be forced to explain yourself, defend your people, attack the enemies of our people, educate everyone, and let the world know that you are fighting for your identity as a Nican Tlaca (of the Indigenous race of this continent), as a Mexica (our last great civilization), as part of the Anahuac ("North American"/Northern Western Hemisphere) Nation.

And of course you will know what Nican Tlaca, Mexica, and Anahuac Nation is (see bottom of this page).

5) This should not be a thing of play acting or of part-time being "Indian". There is no such thing as a name you use only for rituals or when you "hang out with Mexicas" and then you return to your European name. That is dishonoring our ancestors and a sacrilege upon The Creator.

6) Many of our people dishonor (unknowingly) our ancestors by taking first names that are inappropriate and sacrilegious (Ometeotl, Tonatzin,Tonatiuh, Malinche, etc) or names that mix Nahuatl with Spanish names (Hernando Cortez Quetzalcoatl or Xochitl Santa Ana), this would be equivalent to being Jewish and naming your son Adolf Ben Gurion or Jacob Hitler.

Nahuatl names
(see list of names below)

Keep in mind the different types
of names you can take:

There are a few options:

a) A ONE WORD NAME, no surname. You would use it twice in order to satisfy European occuppier legal requirements (Mazatl Mazatl or Tochtli Tochtli).

b) A NAME THAT TRANSLATES A MEANING. Such as Yolotl Aztecatl which means "heart of an Aztec" or more metaphorically the name Cueponi Tlacatl, which has the sense of Blossoming or blooming person (not a literal meaning, but the sense of the meaning).

c) A CALENDAR NAME. This would of course be done eliminating all the superstition associated with the astrological contents of the calendar. These names would use a name based on our calendar birth names (Ome Tochtli, Ce Mazatl, etc). In this case you can use this link to get a Calendar name based on the birth date: MEXICA CALENDAR dates

d) A HEROE'S NAME. This would be someone like Citlalmina (female) or Cuauhtemoc (male).

e) DEDICATION NAME. This would be a name that would serve as a sort of last name (we had no such thing as a last name or surname). This also means that the person is never addressed by this name only nor does the person carry this name only. This sort of name shows dedication to The Creator in one of the many Manifestations and Aspects that The Creator is known under. Possibilities are Xochitl Tonantzin, Ce Acatl Coatlicue, Tlacaelel Xochipilli, Olin Tonatiuh, or any of the other endless combinations. But Ometeotl as a part of the name, or the only name is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE AND SACRILEGE. Never just Tonantzin, Tonatiuh, etc. A dedication name only shows what that person has dedicated their lives to: One of the many names of Ometeotl (but never the actual name of Ometeotl), Ometeotl is Our Creator, who in the many names makes up the totality of the Material and Spirit of The Universe.

f) COMBINED NAME using reasons b through e in some combined form such as the three word name Naui (the number Four) Xolotl (Dedication name) Ilhuicamina (Hero name) or a two word name such as Olin (meaning Movement) Quetzalcoatl (Dedication name).

Nahuatl Pronunciation

How to pronounce words in Nahuatl:

TL: at the end of a word should just pronounce the T---the L should be silent.

Hu : should be pronounced as a W.

LL: should NOT be pronounced as a Spanish double L, use the English pronunciation of LL.

X: should be pronounced as SH. MEXICA is MeSHika.

THE LIST OF NAHUATL NAMES

PRIMARY NAME SEX MEANING / SIGNIFICANCE

Achcauhtli M/F Leader

Acolmixtli
M

Ahuiliztli
M/F Joy

Amoxtli
M/F Book

Atl
M/F Water

Camaxtli
M

Chalchiuitl
F Emerald

Chicahua M/F Strong

Chimalli M Shield

Chipahua M/F Clean

Citlalli M/F Star

Citlalmina F Greatest of our female Heroes

Coaxoch F Serpent Flower

Coyotl M Coyote

Cozamalotl F Rainbow

Coszcatl F Jewel

Cualli M/F Good

Cuauhtemoc M Descending Eagle/Last Mexica Emperor

Cuetlachtli M Wolf

Cuicatl F Song

Etalpalli M/F Wing

Eztli M/F Blood

Huemac M Toltec Ruler

Huitzilihuitl M Hummingbird feather

Huitzilin M Hummingbird

Ichtaca M/F Secret

Icnoyotl M/F Friendship

Ilhicamina M He Shoots Arrows at the Sky/A Great Mexica king

Ilhuitl M/F Day

Ihuicatl M/F Sky

Itotia M/F Dance

Itztli M Obsidian (Knife)

Ixtli M/F Face

Malinalxochitl F Grass Flower

Milintica M He is waving /Fire

Mecatl M/F Rope/ Lineage

Meztli M/F Moon

Nahuatl M/F Four Waters /Nahuatl Language

Necalli M Battle

Nenetl F Doll

Nezahualcoyotl M Fasting Coyote /Texcoco Ruler

Nezahualpilli M Prince Who Fasts / A Great Texcoco Ruler

Nochtli M/F Prickly Pear Fruit

Nopaltzin M Cactus / King

Ohtli M/F Road

Patli M/F Medicine

Quetzalxochitl F Precious Flower / Queen

Tenoch M/F Prickly-peared fruit
(root name of Tenochtitlan)

Tezcacoatl M Reflecting Serpent / King

Tlalli F Earth

Tlacelel M Greatest of our male Heroes

Tlachinolli M/F Fire

Tlazopilli M Precious Noble

Toltecatl M/F Artist

Xipil M/F Noble of the Fire

Xipilli M Jeweled Prince

Xiuhcoatl M/F Fire Serpent / weapon of destruction

Xihuitl M/F Year

Xochitl F Flower

Yolotli M/F Heart

Yaotl M/F Warrior

Yayauhqui M/F Black Smoking Mirror

DEDICATION NAMES
(Second or final part of name,
Never First or only name)

DEDICATION
NAME SEX MEANING / SIGNIFICANCE

Achcauhtli M/F Leader

Tonatiuh M He Comes Shining Sun

Tonatzin F Our Mother (Earth)

Huehueteotl M/F Sacred Fire

Xiuhtecutli M/F Turquoise Lord/ Cosmic Fire - Time

Tlaloc M/F Water

Tezcatlipoca M/F

Quetzalcoatl M/F

Huitzilopochtli M/F

Mictlan M/F

Mictlantecuhtli M/F

Ehecatl M/F

Xolotl M

Xochipill M Flower Prince

Xochiquetzal F

Cihuacoatl F

Coatlicue F

CALENDAR NAMES
and OTHER NAMES TO SERVE AS LAST or FIRST NAMES

DEDICATION
NAME MEANING / SIGNIFICANCE

Cipactli aligator representing the primeval material of the universe

Mazatl deer

Tochtli rabbit

Ocelotl jaguar

Olin movement

Naui Atl Four Water

Naui Ocelotl Four Jaguar

Naui Ehecatl Four Wind

Naui Quiahuitl Four Rain of Fire

Pochtecatl Merchant

Toltecatl Artist

Macehualli The People

Pipiltin Noble

Tecuhtli Knight



THE FOLLOWING ARE NAHUATL WORDS FOR YOUR INFORMATION, NOT FOR NAMES, THAT WE USE IN MEXICAN/"CENTRAL AMERICAN" SPANISH. THIS IS SO THAT THOSE OF YOU WHO SPEAK SPANISH CAN SEE THAT YOU ALREADY ARE SPEAKING A LOT OF NAHUATL:

NAHUATL
WORD MEANING / SIGNIFICANCE

ahuite saddened

amole soap made from root

atole mexican oatmeal-like breakfast

camote sweet potato

canica marbles, as in playing marbles

cuacha filth, as in when you step on a piece of it

chante home, humble abode

chapulin grasshopper

chichi that which the baby cries for, breast

chiar to cry

chicle gum

chicote whip

chilaquiles tortilla and eggs with chilli sauce

chipote a bump on the head

chongo a hair style, a bun

chueco one who is crooked, a thing which is crooked

cochino a pig. Marrano is the spanish word

coco a hurt, for babies only

comal a grill copal incense coyote dog-like creature of the deserts

cuate twin, your buddy, your other self elote corn

escuincle little kid, pre-adolescent

guacamole avocado sauce

guajolote turkey

huila a kite

hule rubber

mecate rope

metate grinding stone, for corn

mitote trouble, a meeting

molcajete bowl for sauce, to grind in

nana granmother, how this came from Nantli which means mother, is a mystery

nene baby

nena doll

nopal cactus

papalote kite, butterfly

pepenar to pick up, also sexual meaning

petaca a trunk

petate floor mat, for sleeping

pisca harvesting

popote straw, as in straw you drink with

pozole menudo-like stuff from Xalixco

pulque

tamal

tapatio a measure of tortillas

tecolote owl

tequila

tocayo someone who has your name

tomate

zacate grass, as in the kind you mow

zoquete mud

MEXICA    Mexica (Meh-shee-kah) is the original Nahuatl (the so-called Aztec language) way of pronouncing Mexican, Mexicano, and Chicano and Chicana. The Mexica was the last of our great Anahuac civilizations (1325 to 1521). Mexica is the only one of our cultures and civilizations which has enough surviving material from which we can reconstruct our Anahuac nation. The Mexica were victims of an ethnocide that left no one today who can authentically call themselves Mexica, much like in Italy there is no one who can authentically call themselves Roman. Therefore, the rest of us who have lost all of our civilization identity and culture or tribal identity and culture, and even those of us who have a civilization or tribal identity, can and should embrace Mexica identity as a collective identity for all of us that we use in order to reconstruct our Anahuac nation and as a means of Liberation. Mexica does not negate Maya or Huichol or Comanche or Shoshone or any of our other Nican Tlaca (Indigenous) civilizations or cultures. Mexica is our point of unity and our means of reconstructing all of our nation.

ANAHUAC    Anahuac (Ah-nah-wak) is the true name of our nation. We are all part of the Anahuac civilization that gave us the Olmeca, Zapoteca, Teotihuacan-Toltec, Maya and Mexica civilizations. The Mexica part of our Anahuac heritage is how we can reconstruct ourselves as a Nican Tlaca (Indigenous) nation, as the Anahuac Nation. We have historic, cultural, linguistic, and racial factors that make us one Anahuac nation, which includes all of our civilizations and cultures. The Mexica heritage gives us a history, language, theology, and study base from which we can rebuild all of our Anahuac heritage. We are a beautiful mosaic of civilizations and cultures throughout this whole continent that Europeans call "America". But this is not "America", this is Anahuac.

NICAN TLACA    Nican Tlaca is our Nahuatl (Mexica) language way of saying "We the people here", in reference to all of us who are Indigenous to Cemanahuac (what Europeans call "the Western Hemisphere") and more specific to Anahuac which is the northern part of Cemanahuac (which is falsely called "North America"). Nican Tlaca refers to all of the people of our race in the "Western Hemisphere". We are not Indians or indios because those are the people of a nation called India. We are also not "Native American" because we are not related to Amerigo Vespucci, nor do we accept the concept of "Native" because it is always used in a derogatory manner. Notice how there are no "Native" Europeans.

NOT MESTIZO    Mestizo is a racist term imposed on us by the Europeans. Mestizo (Mixed-blood)as an identity denies us our full humanity, it enslaves us to the European world. Full-blood or Mixed-blood we are still Nican Tlaca. Being Mixed-blood (so-called Mestizo) does not stop us from being Nican Tlaca, no matter how "white" one looks. The shades and physical looks of our Mixed-blood people are just scars from the rape of our nation. The scars do not define us! Our history, our heritage, and our continent ARE what defines us.

"CENTRAL AMERICA"    "Central America" was artificially created in 1823. Before that date we were all part of Anahuac. Anahuac includes Mexico, "Central America", Canada and the so-called U.S. We are not "Central Americans", therefore we use that term it quotes to reject it; while at the same time we know that most of our people are ignorant to its racist and colonial terms and that is the only way that they will know what we are talking about. Much like us using the English or Spanish language, we use them in order to communicate with our people but we know that they are not our languages. If we wrote the whole website just in Nahuatl or Maya the majority of our people would not understand a word of our website.

NOT HISPANIC    Hispanics are the Spaniards, the people of Spain. We are not Spaniards! We are Mexica! We are the people of Anahuac. We are the Nican Tlaca (Indigenous people) of this continent, the true owners of this continent. We are not Spaniards or the property of Spain. Calling ourselves "Hispanic" denies us our true Nican Tlaca Anahuac identity, history and heritage. It enslaves us to the interests of the "Spanish" white world. Calling our people Hispanic is racist. Calling our people Hispanic is like calling the African descent people in the U.S. Britannic because they have British names and because they speak English.

NOT LATINO    Latinos are the Latins: Southern Europeans--the Spaniards, French, and Portuguese. Calling ourselves "Latino" makes us cultural slaves of Europeans. Like Hispanic, Latino is cultural suicide. It is cultural genocide. It betrays our true Nican Tlaca ancestors.

NOT RAZA    "Raza" is not an identity. "Raza" is basically the same thing as using the Eurocentric term "Mestizo"--it takes pride in Spanish blood (what little or nothing that we may have) and puts shame in our Nican Tlaca blood and culture. Calling ourselves "Raza" is a way of saying, "I'm not an 'Indio', I have some, mostly, Spanish blood". In Mexico "Dia de la Raza" is celebrated on October 12---Columbus Day. Imagine that! We are celebrating the rape of our mothers, the rape of our nation, the enslavement of our people.

EUROPEAN, WHITE AND CRIOLLO are basically the same thing. These are "White" people who are on our continent. Europeans can call themselves "Canadian" or "American" but their homeland is still Europe and they are still trespassing on our continent. A Criollo is someone of "authentic Spanish-European" descent who is still on our land exploiting our people, our resources and our wealth. GENOCIDE as defined by Raphael Lemkin, "...is the planned annihilation [killing] of a national [Mexican] or racial group by a variety of actions [biological warfare, oppression, enslavement] aimed at undermining the foundations essential to the survival of the group [Nican Tlaca of Anahuac] as a group.

MEXICA MOVEMENT is leading the way with actions that defend our people, actions that provide a vision for the liberation of our people, actions that confront the racism against us and the occupation of our continent by Europeans. We declare ourselves independent from the Hispanic-Latino European colonialism and racism that has enslaved us for over 500 years.

THINGS YOU SHOULD DO!

1) Study this document and go to our website for more information: www.mexica-movement.org

2) Read the recommended books listed below under BIBLIOGRAPHY.

3) If you can't get your books from your local library buy them from the powells.com

4) Share your knowledge! Make good quality copies of this material and pass it on.

5) Study the materials and the website. If you live in the Los Angeles area call us at (323) 981-0352 so you can visit us, join us in activities, or to become a supporter. You can also donate money to support our movement (we are a non-profit organization).

6) Once you understand our philosophy, and you have found the courage to change your life, become a part of the Mexica Movement.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(Read in this order, please)

1 Daily Life of the Aztecs by Jacques Soustelle

2 Mexico by Michael Coe

3 Mexico Profundo by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla

4 American Holocaust by David E. Stannard

5 Anahuac Book by Olin Tezcatlipoca

6 Year 501 by Noam Chomsky

7 Colonizer's Model of the World by J.M. Blaut

8 Mexica Handbook by Olin Tezcatlipoca

9 Mexico's Indigenous Past by Lopez Austin and Lopez Lujan

10 American Indian Contributions to the World by Emory Dean Keoke & Kay Marie Porterfield

CHRONOLOGY AND OTHER REFERENCES:

10 Latin America: From Colonization To Globalization by Noam Chomsky

11 Encyclopedia of World History 6th Edition by Peter Stam

12 Oxford Atlas of History 2002 by Oxford Press

13 Course of Mexican History by Michael C. Meyer and William L. Sherman

14 Oxford History of Mexico 2000 by Michael Meyer and William Beezley

15 In the Language of Kings by Miguel Leon-Portilla

16 Skywatchers by Anthony F. Aveni

17 Flayed God (out of print, get used) by Roberta and Peter Markman

CONTACT US:: mexicamovement@sbcglobal.net
(323) 981-0352 / blocked i.d. calls will not be answered

MEXICA MOVEMENT HOME PAGE

We are Not Hispanic! Not Latino! Not European.
We are Not "Aztlan". Not Raza. Not Mecha. Not Mestizo.
We are Not "Illegals"! Not Trying to annex the "US Southwest" to Mexico!

Acolmixtli

Ahuiliztli

Amoxtli

Atl

Camaxtli

Chalchiuitl

DEDICATION NAMES
(Second or final part of name,
Never First or only name)

CALENDAR NAMES
and OTHER NAMES TO SERVE AS LAST or FIRST NAMES

NOT LATINO Latinos are the Latins: Southern Europeans--the Spaniards, French, and Portuguese. Calling ourselves "Latino" makes us cultural slaves of Europeans. Like Hispanic, Latino is cultural suicide. It is cultural genocide. It betrays our true Nican Tlaca ancestors.