Mexican names • Meanings • Culture
Find a Mexican name you can explain.
Spanish saints, Aztec compounds, Maya words and the nicknames that go with them. Every name here is broken into the words it is made of, with a meaning you can defend and a pronunciation you can say.
- 446
- Names with meanings
- 23
- Origin languages
- Nahuatl, Maya & Spanish
- Checked against dictionaries
Featured name
cuāuhtli+temōc=
Cuauhtémoc
“descending eagle”
kwow-TEH-mok · Nahuatl
- cuāuhtlieagle
- temōcdescended
446 Mexican names found
Popular girl names
The girl names at the top of Mexico's birth registrations, with meanings and cultural roots.
- Camilaattendant at a rite
- Valentinastrong, healthy
- Reginaqueen
- Sofíawisdom
- Emmawhole, universal
- Lucíalight
Popular boy names
Popular and timeless Mexican boy names, from Santiago to Emiliano.
- SantiagoSaint James
- Mateogift of God
- Sebastiánvenerable, from Sebaste
- Leonardobrave lion
- Matíasgift of God
- DanielGod is my judge
Indigenous names
Names from Nahuatl, Maya, Zapotec and Purépecha, each shown word by word.
All 109 Indigenous namesPick a meaning, get every name that carries it.
Mexican names come from three traditions at once: the Catholic calendar, the Spanish language, and the languages spoken here before either arrived.
How Mexican names work
A Mexican full name has three parts: one or two given names, the father's surname, and the mother's surname. Sofía Hernández García is Sofía, daughter of a Hernández father and a García mother. Women keep their own surnames at marriage. That is why Mexican last names are really a question about pairs, and why Hernández, García, Martínez and López each account for millions of people.
Given names come from three sources. The Catholic calendar supplies saints such as Juan, José and Francisco and, uniquely in Mexico, the titles of the Virgin Mary used as names on their own: Guadalupe, Lourdes, Rocío, Pilar, Consuelo, Refugio. Spanish supplies word-names like Luz, Paz and Esperanza. And Nahuatl and Maya supply Xóchitl, Citlali, Itzel, Yaretzi and Cuauhtémoc, which have climbed the registry since the 1980s.
Almost every common name has a nickname that bears no obvious relation to it. José is Pepe, Jesús is Chuy, Francisco is Paco or Pancho, Guadalupe is Lupe, Ignacio is Nacho. The nickname guide explains the sound changes behind each one.
Top names for newborns, 2025
INEGI birth statistics, reported by Infobae México (23 Dec 2025)
All the lists, by yearWhere the names come from
Mexican names FAQ
Common questions about Mexican names and their meanings.
What are the most popular Mexican names?
For newborns, Mexico's registry data puts Camila, Valentina, Regina, Sofía at the top for girls and Santiago, Mateo, Sebastián, Leonardo for boys. Across the whole population the leaders are still María Guadalupe, Juan, José Luis and María. See the popular names page for the lists by year.
What is a typical Mexican name?
A typical Mexican full name has a given name, often a compound like María José or Juan Carlos, then the father's surname and the mother's surname: Sofía Hernández García. Saints' names, titles of the Virgin Mary such as Guadalupe, Lourdes and Rocío, and Nahuatl names such as Xóchitl and Citlali are all common.
Are Mexican names the same as Spanish names?
They share most of the same pool. What is distinctly Mexican is the heavy use of Marian titles, the indigenous names revived since the 1980s, the nickname system, and local favorites like Ximena and Regina that rank far higher here than in Spain.
Why is José called Pepe and Jesús called Chuy?
Both come from child speech. Josepe, the old form of José, was clipped to Pepe. Jesús became Chuy because the s turns into ch in baby talk and the name is cut to one syllable. The story that Pepe stands for pater putativus is folk etymology. The nicknames guide covers eighty more.
How do you pronounce Mexican names?
Spanish vowels are pure: a as in father, e as in bet, i as ee, o as in go, u as oo. J sounds like an English h, so José is ho-SEH. X varies: sh in Xóchitl, h in México, s in Xochimilco. Nahuatl names stress the second-to-last syllable. Read the pronunciation guide.
What do Aztec names mean?
Nahuatl names are transparent compounds. Cuauhtémoc is cuauhtli (eagle) plus temoc (descended). Xóchitl is simply flower, Citlali is star, Tonatiuh is the sun. Every name page here shows the parts. Start with Aztec names.