8/23/2023 0 Comments Aztec names translationWe only have three books from this census describing all the families in a number of small communities in Northern Morelos. In Morelos a large census was carried out in 1544 only 23 years after the invasion when many people were still not baptized and many had lived through the Spanish invasion. To get a sense of what actual common people were named and not just the rulers and nobles it would also be great to have names form some kind of secular everyday context. Lockhart shows us that across most of Nahua speaking Mexico Nahuatl language names disappear very quickly after the conquest, so the best source of names has to be early documents. James Lockhart has a brief analysis of changing naming customs from the early colonial to late colonial period and includes a short list of Nahuatl names in his "Nahuas After the Conquest", but doesnt list nearly as many names as we actually know. But finding good ones is hard, the few common names such as Cuauhtemoc, Xochitl aren't quite sending the signals many people are interested in anymore.īut there is very little work done on Nahuatl naming. Other theories are that it might have come from the Spanish word meaning "rad" or "ruddy," describing the color of the stream in various places or the red earth found in some areas.ĬONNECTICUT: Appears to be a derivation of the Indian word "Quonoktacut" (also Quonecktacut), interpreted by some to mean "river whose water is driven in waves by tides O:c:" winds.Lots of people are interested in giving their children Nahuatl names. The island is described as an earthly paradise, abundant with gold and precious gems.ĬOLORADO: Presumably named from the river bearing the name, although only tributaries flow through the State. Others say that Arkansas is a French version of "Kansas, a Sioux Indian name for “south wind people.”ĬALIFORNIA: Generally agreed that Cortez first applied the name, the origin is traced to the name of an imaginary island in an old Spanish romance written by Montalvo in 1510. The word, according to some, is of Algonquin origin, and the meaning is unknown. As usual with words of Indian origin, there are various spellings for this State name, among them Alkansia, Alkansas, and Akamsea. was discovered near here, which gives some credence to the Aztec word "arizuma."ĪRKANSAS.: Origin uncertain. This place was near the present town of Nogales, and in the early 1700's, silver. Others claim the name is Aztec, from "arizuma" meaning "silver bearing." Still another version: attributes the origin to the Papagos tribe of the Southwest, wruc named it from the locality in which they lived called Arizonac, meaning "site of the small springs" (lack of water). Franklin was ceded to the Federal government in 1790, became the State of Tennessee in 1796, and was admitted to the Union.įollowing are the 50 States' names, listed alphabetically, with brief explanations of their origins:ĪLABAMA: From an Indian tribe of the Creek Confederacy originally called the Alabamas or Alibamons, who in turn gave the name to a river from which the State name was derived.ĪLASKA: From Eskimo word "alakshak”, meaning peninsula also said to mean "great lands."ĪRIZONA: Many authorities attribute the meaning to a word meaning arid zone or desert. Congress was petitioned by the newly formed State and asked for recognition, but this was not granted. For about three years, the two factions were nearly at war. It broke away from the original territory and elected a legislature' and a governor. In 1784, Franklin was a part of North Carolina's western territory, a part of the grant of Charles II. Among the authorities from which parts of the material were gathered are State historical societies, the Bureau of American Ethnology, college and university departments of history, and individual researchers.Ī State that many have never heard of -the State of Franklin was named for Benjamin Franklin. Some of the following information is quoted, and some is a composite of ideas and opinions expressed by several authorities. In most instances, loose translations are offered as an explanation for the meaning of the original word this is especially true for State names of Indian origin. It would appear that the origins of our State names would be well-established facts however, when an attempt is made to trace these origins, they are found to be quite elusive and controversial.
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