The state of Yucatán, located in southeastern Mexico, is made up of 106 Yucatán municipalities, each with a name that carries a deep connection to the land, nature, and Maya cosmology. Below is a complete list of all the municipalities along with the meanings of their names, many of which come from the Yucatec Maya language — offering a glimpse into the region’s spiritual and ecological heritage.
Why These Names Matter
Each name reflects an ecological, spiritual, or geographical truth. The Maya people named places based on observations of nature, animals, celestial events, and sacred relationships to the land. Understanding these names helps us reconnect with ancestral knowledge and the living soul of the territory.
Yucatán Municipalities and Their Meanings
| Municipality | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Abalá | Water plum |
| Acanceh | Roar of the deer |
| Akil | Place of vines |
| Baca | Place where water spills |
| Bokobá | Water that is forded or stirred |
| Buctzotz | Garment of hairs |
| Cacalchén | Well with two mouths |
| Calotmul | Two joined hills |
| Cansahcab | Place of four white-earth caves |
| Cantamayec | The four Tamay trees |
| Celestún | Stone fright |
| Cenotillo | Small cenote |
| Conkal | Place of the neck |
| Cuncunul | Place of the enchanted or wonderful pot |
| Cuzamá | Water of the swallows |
| Chacsinkín | Legume plant with red flowers |
| Chankom | Place of the small pot or ravine |
| Chapab | Place of greasy water |
| Chemax | Monkey tree |
| Chicxulub | Burning deer horn |
| Chichimilá | Water where the chechem tree is |
| Chikindzonot | Cenote in the west |
| Chocholá | Place of the cicadas |
| Chumayel | Place of seeds |
| Dzan | Collapsed or sunken |
| Dzemul | Place of the imposing hill |
| Dzidzantún | That which is written in stone |
| Dzilam de Bravo / González | Peeled or barked |
| Dzitas | Name of a plant |
| Dzoncauich | Cauich’s well |
| Espita | Little water |
| Halachó | The mice’s reed |
| Hocabá | Water from the Hocab tree |
| Hoctún | Uprooted stone |
| Homún | Muddy hollow |
| Huhí | Place of iguanas |
| Hunucmá | Water of the marsh |
| Ixil | Place where it bristles |
| Izamal | Dew from the sky |
| Kanasín | Legume with reddish flowers |
| Kantunil | Place of the precious stone |
| Kaua | Sour tortilla |
| Kinchil | Place of the god Kinchil |
| Kopomá | Sunken water |
| Mama | Maternal water |
| Maní | Where everything happened |
| Maxcanú | The monkey Canul |
| Mayapán | Banner of the Maya |
| Mérida (Ichcaansihó / T-hó) | Between the siho trees / Five hills |
| Mocochá | Water from the hole |
| Motul | Named after priest Zac-Mutul |
| Muna | Soft or tender water |
| Muxupip | Buried bread |
| Oxkutzcab | Place of ramón, tobacco, and honey |
| Panabá | Water found by excavation |
| Peto | Moon crown |
| Progreso | Founded to move the customs house closer to Mérida |
| Quintana Roo | In honor of Andrés Quintana Roo |
| Río Lagartos | River of the alligators |
| Sacalum | White earth |
| Samahil | Place of the Tzama legume |
| Sanahcat | Tzalam legume |
| San Felipe | Formerly Actum Chuleb |
| Santa Elena | Formerly Nohcacab |
| Seyé | Small ladder |
| Sinanché | Scorpion tree |
| Sotuta | Water that turns |
| Sucilá | Grass water |
| Sudzal | Water where the suudz tree is |
| Suma | Water where the suum plant is |
| Tahdziú | Place of the tziu bird |
| Tahmek | Place of the embrace |
| Teabo | Where the plum trees are |
| Tecoh | Place of the puma |
| Tekal de Venegas | Enclosure or prison |
| Tekantó | Place of the yellow flint |
| Tekax | Where the forest is |
| Tekit | Place of the scattering |
| Tekom | In the hollow place |
| Telchac Pueblo | Long, extended mangrove roots |
| Temax | Place of monkeys |
| Temozón | Place of the whirlpool |
| Tepakán | Place of the Pakán tree |
| Teya | Place of the chicozapote |
| Ticul | Place of the hills |
| Timucuy | Place of the dove |
| Tinum | Place of the thorn |
| Tixcacalcupul | Well with two mouths of Cupul |
| Tixkokob | Place of snakes |
| Tixmehuac | Place of Xmeuac |
| Tixpéhual | Place of the withered |
| Tizimín | Place of the tapir |
| Tunkás | Circle of stones |
| Tzucacab | Cluster of small towns and good lands |
| Uayma | Water of huayo |
| Ucú | Dove or wood pigeon |
| Umán | Its passage |
| Valladolid | Founded by the waterhole of Chokuac há |
| Xocchel | Counting magpies |
| Yaxcabá | Place of green lands |
| Yaxkukul | Precious green |
| Yobaín | Over crocodiles |
Bibliography (APA Format)
Solís Alcalá, E. (2000). Los nombres geográficos del Estado de Yucatán. México: Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán (UADY).
Gobierno del Estado de Yucatán. (n.d.). Toponimia de los municipios de Yucatán. Recuperado de https://www.yucatan.gob.mx
INEGI. (2020). División municipal de Yucatán. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía. https://www.inegi.org.mx
Barrera Vásquez, A. (1980). Diccionario Maya Cordemex: Maya-Español, Español-Maya. Mérida, Yucatán: Ediciones Cordemex.
Bricker, V. R., Po’ot Yah, E., & Dzul de Po’ot, O. (1998). A Dictionary of the Maya Language As Spoken in Hocabá, Yucatán. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
Restall, M. (1997). The Maya World: Yucatec Culture and Society, 1550–1850. Stanford University Press.