Nahuatl Names

[Henry Kammler]

> Can someone advise if I am on the right track with the translation of
> Cuitlahuac:
>
> As a place name - Location of dried excrement owners, i.e.  (possibly) a
> fertiliser factory.
>
> stems - cuitla-tl = excrement; -huah = possessor suffix; -co = specific
> location suffix
Why "dried"? It's simply a place of excrement or dung owners.
The residents of Cuitlahuac, DF, will probabably not be very happy to
learn the literal meaning of that place name. I take it to refer to
wealth, though. As in _teocuitlatl_ "gold" (excrement of gods) or
_iztaccuitlaltl_ (white excrement) "silver". Cuitlatl also has a
broader semantic range than just "excrement", it can also be
"residue", "excrescence" and "excretion".
So, maybe Cuitlahuac is a place where people had much teocuitlatl.
Another interpretation would that of "excrescence" be: a place were
people suffered from abscesses and the like.
Probably somebody more knowledgeable in DF local history can clear
this up.

> As a personal name - Dried excrement
>
> stems - cuitla-tl = excrement; hua:c = it has been dried.

As a personal name, somethig like this would be the only
interpretation, I'm afraid.
*_ocuitl(a)hua:c_ "its has dried like (?) excrement";
*_ocuitl(a)hua:quiti_ "he has dried dung"

Henry