Browse Names - Behind the Name

Animikii m Ojibwe, New World Mythology
Means "thunder, thunderer" in Ojibwe. In Anishinaabe mythology this is the name of the thunderbird, an immense flying creature that makes thunder with its flapping wings.

Chaac m Mayan Mythology
From Classic Maya cháak meaning "rain". This was the name of the Maya god of the rain and storms.

Ehecatl m Aztec and Toltec Mythology, Nahuatl
Means "wind" in Nahuatl. This was the name of the Aztec wind god.

Glooscap m New World Mythology
Derived from an Eastern Algonquian phrase meaning "man from nothing". Glooscap (or Gluskabe) was a hero involved in the creation myths of the Wabanaki people of eastern North America.

Huitzilopochtli m Aztec and Toltec Mythology
Means "left side of the hummingbird" or "southern hummingbird" in Nahuatl, derived from huitzilin "hummingbird" and ōpōchtli "left, south". In Aztec mythology he was the god of the sun and war. He was a patron deity of the city of Tenochtitlan (at the site of modern Mexico City).

Hunahpu m Mayan Mythology
Possibly means "one blowgunner", from Classic Maya jun "one" and puw "blowgun" (with the agentive prefix aj-). Hunahpu and his twin brother Xbalanque are the central characters of the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the K'iche' Maya.

Inti m Quechua, Inca Mythology
Means "sun" in Quechua. This was the name of the Inca god of the sun. He was a son of Viracocha.

Itzamna m Mayan Mythology, Mayan
From Classic Maya itzam, an element found in the names of some Maya gods (possibly from itz "enchanted, nectar" and mam "grandfather"), combined with nah "great". Itzamna was the Maya creator god.

Jóhonaa'éí m New World Mythology
Means "sun" in Navajo. In Navajo mythology this is the name of the sun god.

K'awiil m Mayan Mythology
Variant of K'awil.

K'awil m Mayan Mythology
Possibly means "powerful one" in Classic Maya. This was the name of the Maya god of lightning, generations and corn. He was sometimes depicted with one of his legs taking the form of a serpent. His name was also used as a title for other gods.

K'inich m Mayan Mythology
Means "hot, sunny" in Classic Maya, derived from k'in "sun". K'inich Ajaw (ajaw meaning "king, lord") was the Maya god of the sun. K'inich was commonly used as an element in the names of Maya royalty.

Kinich m Mayan Mythology
Variant of K'inich.

K'uk'ulkan m Mayan Mythology
Means "feathered serpent", from Classic Maya k'uk' "quetzal, quetzal feather" and kaan "serpent, snake". This was the name of a snake god in Maya mythology, roughly equivalent to the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. This is the Yucatec Maya form — the K'iche' name is Q'uq'umatz (which is only partially cognate).

Kukulkan m Mayan Mythology
Variant of K'uk'ulkan.

Metztli f & m Aztec and Toltec Mythology, Nahuatl
Means "moon" in Nahuatl. This was the name of the Aztec god (or goddess) of the moon.

Meztli f & m Aztec and Toltec Mythology, Nahuatl
Variant of Metztli.

Mictlantecuhtli m Aztec and Toltec Mythology
Means "lord of Mictlan" in Nahuatl. In Aztec mythology he was the skeletal ruler of Mictlan, the realm of the dead, with his wife Mictecacihuatl.

Nanabozho m New World Mythology
Means "my rabbit" in Ojibwe, derived from waabooz "rabbit". In Anishinaabe legend Nanabozho (also called Wenabozho) is a trickster spirit.

Nanabush m New World Mythology
Variant of Nanabozho.

Quaoar m New World Mythology
English rendering of a Takic name (alternatively Kwawar or Kwauwar), of unknown meaning. In the mythology of the Mission Indians of southern California, Quaoar was a creator god also known as Chinigchinix. A dwarf planet in the outer solar system was named for him in 2002.

Quetzalcoatl m Aztec and Toltec Mythology
Means "feathered snake" in Nahuatl, derived from quetzalli "quetzal feather, precious thing" and cōātl "snake". In Aztec and other Mesoamerican mythology he was the god of the sky, wind, and knowledge, also associated with the morning star. According to one legend he created the humans of this age using the bones of humans from the previous age and adding his own blood.

Q'uq'umatz m Mayan Mythology
Means "feathered serpent", from K'iche' Maya q'uq' "quetzal, quetzal feather" and kumatz "serpent, snake". This was the K'iche' equivalent of the Yucatec Maya god K'uk'ulkan, though the final element is derived from a different root.

Tezcatlipoca m Aztec and Toltec Mythology
Means "smoking mirror" in Nahuatl, derived from tezcatl "mirror" and pōctli "smoke". In Aztec and other Mesoamerican mythology he was one of the chief gods, associated with the night sky, winds, war, and the north. Like his rival Quetzalcoatl, he was a creator god.

Tlaloc m Aztec and Toltec Mythology, Nahuatl
Possibly from Nahuatl tlālloh meaning "covered with earth", derived from tlālli meaning "earth, land, soil". This was the name of the Aztec god of rain and fertility, the husband of Chalchiuhtlicue.

Tohil m Mayan Mythology
Possibly from Classic Maya tojol meaning "tribute". This was the name of a K'iche' Maya fire god.

Tonatiuh m Aztec and Toltec Mythology, Nahuatl
Means "sun" in Nahuatl. This was the name of the Aztec sun god.

Viracocha m Inca Mythology
Possibly from Quechua wira "fat, thick" and qucha "lake". This is the name of the creator god in Inca mythology.

Xbalanque m Mayan Mythology
Possibly from Classic Maya balam "jaguar" and k'in "sun" or kej "deer". In the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the K'iche' Maya, Xbalanque and his twin brother Hunahpu avenge their father's death at the hands of the underworld gods.

Xochipilli m Aztec and Toltec Mythology
Means "flower prince" in Nahuatl, from xōchitl "flower" and pilli "noble child, prince". Xochipilli was the Aztec god of love, flowers, song and games, the twin brother of Xochiquetzal.

Xolotl m Aztec and Toltec Mythology
Meaning uncertain, of Nahuatl origin, possibly meaning "servant" or "cornstalk". In Aztec mythology Xolotl was a monstrous dog-headed god who guided the dead to Mictlan. He was also associated with lightning, fire and the evening star. He was the twin brother of Quetzalcoatl.

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