We begin with the #ClaseDeNáhuatl

So, this time our #ClaseDeNáhuatl will continue to deal with the meaning of names of various modern Mexican cities and towns that, apparently, came from Nahuatl.

Last week I talked about cities that begin with the letter A. Today I will talk of the cities with the letter C, as the letter B does not exist in Nahuatl.

Therefore, today we proceed with the letter C:

• Catemaco where is the bathhouse. CAL-MA-TE-CO
  • CALLI house,
  • TEMAZ bathe,
  • CO locative.
• Chalco place of jade. CHAL-CO
  • CHAL is a shortened chalcihuitl jade,
  • CO locative.

  Chalco (according to codex Mendoza) – place of jade, but according to Sahagún – place of the mouths, in which case
  Sahagun might have meant the inputs and outputs of the lake

• Chalma where the sand stretches. CHAL-MAN
  • CHALI or XALI sand,
  • MANA extended,
• Chapala Location pots (or pans). CHAPAL-LAN
  • CHACHAPATLAN abbreviation of CHACHAPAHTLI crock pot,
  • TLAN locative function or abound,
• Chapultepec on the hill of the grasshoppers. CHAPUL-TEPEC
  • CHAPUL or CHAPULIN grasshopper,
  • TEPETL hill,
• Chilpanzingo place of small wasps. CHILPAN-TZIN-CO
  • CHILPAN wasp,
  • TZIN diminutive,
  • CO locative.
• Chimalhuacan Place the shield. CHIMAL-HUA-CAN
  • CHIMALLI shield,
  • HUA part, possessive,
  • CAN locative.
• Cholula Location of the flight. CHOLOL-LAN
  • CHOLOLLI escape, (from CHOLOA – flee
  • LAN or TLAN locative function.
• Coacalco in the house of the serpent. CAL-CO-COA
  • COATL serpent,
  • CALLI house,
  • CO locative.
• Colima In the hand of the grandfather or the old (meaning the volcano). COLLI-I-MA
  • COLLI Grandpa, I, (3rd person possessive singular)
  • MAITL hand,
• Coatzacoalcos in the pyramids of snakes. pluralization ofCOA-TZACUAL-CO
  • COATL snake,
  • TZACUALLI pyramid,
  • CO locative.
• Cuajimalpa place of chips. CUAUHXIMAL-PAN
  • CUAUHXIMALLI carved wood chips,
  • PAN locative.
• Cuautitlán Next to the woods. Cuauh-TI-TLAN
  • CUAHUITL tree,
  • TLAN locative.
• Cosamaloapan rainbow river. COZAMALO-APAN
  • COZAMALOTL rainbow,
  • APAN rivel,
• Nanacamilpa In the crops where fungus. NANACA-MIL-PAN
  • NANACATL fungus,
  • MILLI sown field,
  • PAN locative.
• Culiacan Place of those who worship Coltzin. COLTE-HUA-CAN
  • COLTZIN twisted god,
  • HUA part possessive,
  • CAN locative.

  (worth mentioning that Culhuacán and Culiacan come from the same source. Coltzin is the chief god of the Colhuas (hence the name Colhaus) and is always represented with a twisted neck.)

These are just some of the many places with Nahuatl names starting with C.

If you want to know the meaning of other cities, send me the name. But today the letter C is exclusive!

For questions or further information you can find Moctezuma Xocoyotzin on Twitter or on the Historias Prehispanicas.