Talk:Name of Mexico

Latest comment: 2 years ago by ErikHaugen in topic Requested move 6 July 2021

Untitled edit

This article definitely needs to be reviewed to eliminate unreferenced claims. I eliminated the paragraph that implied that it was due to "national Mexcian pride" that RAE conceded to the original spelling. For the most part, when RAE determined that the original spelling be used in all texts, it was also determined that original spellings for toponyms within the Iberian Peninsula should also be used, according to the national languages of Spain (Galician, Basque and Catalan, as well as the non-official Asturian). --the Dúnadan 02:44, 4 February 2007 (UTC)Reply

Requested move 2007 edit

The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.


Toponymy of MexicoName of Mexico — The "toponymy of Mexico" would be the general study of Mexican placenames, not the origin and usage of the word "Mexico" itself. I'm not strongly behind moving it to Name of Mexico specifically, just as long as it's somewhere other than where it is now, since currently it's misnamed. Ptcamn 13:36, 7 May 2007 (UTC)Reply

Survey edit

Add  * '''Support'''  or  * '''Oppose'''  on a new line in the appropriate section followed by a brief explanation, then sign your opinion using ~~~~. Since this is not a vote, please explain the reasons for your recommendation.
  • Weak oppose The current title of the article was discussed and agreed upon before it was moved from 'Etymology of Mexico' and revamped to be all-encompassing. The current title is appropriate for the topic matter of the article -- after all, 'Mexico' is a place name, and this article is devoted to its origin, meaning, and collateral studies. Though simpler, 'Name of Mexico' sounds unencyclopedic and rings rather oddly in my ears. If it must be moved, I'd prefer to move it back to its original title. Corticopia 13:43, 7 May 2007 (UTC)Reply
  • Weak oppose. I agree with Corticopia. Moreover, if an article about the toponymy of all places in Mexico is ever made, it can be simply titled Toponymy of places in Mexico. Btw, there is an article about Mexican state name etymologies. --the Dúnadan 17:39, 7 May 2007 (UTC)Reply
    Toponymy of places? You want to name it "names of places of places in Mexico"? --Ptcamn 04:35, 8 May 2007 (UTC)Reply
Toponomy: the branch of lexicology that studies the place names of a region or a language. So, I want to name it "The lexicological study of the places in Mexico". I doubt there will ever be an aricle of everything in Mexico. But I'd say the title would be fine, or more specific, such as Toponymy of states in Mexico (which already exists) Toponymy of cities in Mexico, etc. --the Dúnadan 04:45, 8 May 2007 (UTC)Reply

Discussion edit

Add any additional comments:

The current title, "Toponymy of Mexico," is an incorrect usage of "toponymy" even if it can seemingly be shoehorned into the dictionary definition. As the nominator states, toponymy is the study of place names within the delineated area and not merely the name of the delineated area. (cf. Maghreb toponymy, British toponymy) —  AjaxSmack  07:11, 11 May 2007 (UTC)Reply

Comment In that case, the article can be built to deal with other place names in Mexico, which was part of the intent of the move. 'Name of Mexico' won't do and, other than 'Etymology of Mexico' (which I prefer to the proposed title), no other names have been suggested. Rebels without a cause, IMO. :) Corticopia 07:56, 11 May 2007 (UTC)Reply
Comment Singular or plural, it doesn't matter; toponymy is the study of the name of a place. Etymology is defined as the study of the sources and development of words, does that mean that "Etymology of Mexico" is also wrong because etymology is the study of words not of a word? --the Dúnadan 16:24, 11 May 2007 (UTC)Reply
The first meaning the American Heritage Dictionary gives for "etymology" is The origin and historical development of a linguistic form ... (i.e. a word). It gives The branch of linguistics that deals with etymologies as a secondary meaning.[1] Conversely, for "toponymy" it gives The place names of a region or language and The study of such place names, but nothing like "the historical development and usage of a place name". [2] --Ptcamn 19:54, 11 May 2007 (UTC)Reply
Toponomy is simply the study of (a) toponym(s) or place name(s) -- I see nothing which prohibits historical devt and usage of a place name as part of that 'study'. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary indicates: the place-names of a region or language or especially the etymological study of them. The above comment seems almost a logical fallacy, analogous (e.g.) to restricting the study of biology to a life despite its many varieties. Corticopia 20:06, 11 May 2007 (UTC)Reply
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

It was requested that this article be renamed but there was no consensus for it be moved. Certainly, no consensus was evident to me. I think much of the problem could be solved by having the article called Etymology of the name "Mexico" or Etymology of "Mexico" or even Etymology of the word Mexico. Alternatively, as some have suggested, the article could be expanded to cover all Mexican place-names. There is no consensus on what to do, but something should be done. --Stemonitis 09:10, 16 May 2007 (UTC)Reply

Requested move 2008 edit

The following is a closed discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal was Move Parsecboy (talk) 16:47, 6 September 2008 (UTC)Reply


Toponymy of MexicoName of Mexico — The previous discussion made the problem with the current title obvious, but nothing has been done about it for over a year now. "Name of Mexico" is in line with the other "Name of country" articles, such as Name of Argentina, Name of Brazil, and Name of Canada. The other suggested titles would deviate from the currently established naming standard without justifiable reason in the form of article content difference. — Neelix (talk) 01:12, 2 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

Survey edit

Feel free to state your position on the renaming proposal by beginning a new line in this section with *'''Support''' or *'''Oppose''', then sign your comment with ~~~~. Since polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account Wikipedia's naming conventions.

Discussion edit

Any additional comments:


The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal when no one pariticipated? edit

Why was the page moved when no consensus was reached before? If a new request to move the article is to be made, why not wait until a decision is made before moving the article? There was no clear consensus, and enough opposition to the move. Please explain, how come is that "no responses in 4 days" is interpreted to be an "affirmative and consensual" agreement to move the article? Especially when a prior request to move it generated strong opposition? --the Dúnadan 19:03, 6 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

How about this then?:

Support the requested move per nomination and because "Toponymy of Mexico" is an incorrect usage of "toponymy" even if it can seemingly be shoehorned into the dictionary definition. Toponymy is the study of place names within the delineated area and not merely a study of the etymology and variations of the name of the delineated area. (cf. British toponymy). It's been a year since the first requested move and the article is still not about the toponymy of Mexico; it's only about the name Mexico itself. (cf. others titles in Category:Country name etymology). — AjaxSmack 01:59, 7 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

Added a sentence re spelling "Mejico" edit

As I recall from traveling around Mexico (before the World Wide Web), the spellng "Mejico" is still common for the name of that country (especially in small towns). Just to check, I googled on the search string "Mejico -Mexico" on the Mexican Google site in Spanish, and came up with "about 2,400,000" hits.

So I've added to the section on spelling that that spelling "Mejico" is "not uncommon" in Mexico even today.Daqu (talk) 17:10, 26 February 2010 (UTC)Reply

Something sounds fishy. edit

One can textually read in the article that: In English, however, the x does not represent either the original sound [ʃ] or the modern sound [x], but the spelling pronunciation [ks]; thus Mexico is pronounced /ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/ in English.

The previous text is wrong, for x represents the spelling pronunciations: [ks] like in except or expire, [gz] like in exam or exotic, [z] like in xylophone or xenon, and [kʃ] like in sexual or luxury. What is then the general rule for pronouncing the name of Mexico?, should it be pronounced /ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/ line in except, pronounced /ˈmɛgzɨkoʊ/ like in exam, or pronounced /ˈmɛkʃɨkoʊ/ like in sexual?--148.247.186.142 (talk) 16:46, 11 May 2010 (UTC)Reply

Etymology of the name Mexico and Mexico Tenus Titlan edit

The word Mexico appears to have been derived from the Sanskrit word- /makshika / which means

‘ a fly.’ It is called ‘ makkhi ‘ in Hindi.  The word makshika is pronounced as ‘makshiko ‘ in the North- Eastern languages of India. The vowel < a > is pronounced as the vowel < o > in these languages. For example the words Rama, Krishna and Calcutta are pronounced as ‘ Ramo ‘,’Krishno’ and  ‘Kolikotto’  in Bengali. 

2. The word Makshika was perhaps pronounced as ‘ makshico ‘ by the native ‘snake people ‘ of Mexico. These were none other than the great NAGAS or Cobra people, whose original habitat was the Himalayan Ranges to the North-East of India. They are red and short people,who lived in a matriarchal form of society, Worshipers of the benevolent and ferocious Goddess Mother Kali and expert explorers of gold.

(the Naga tribe of India -Wikipedia )

3, The word’ Mexico Tenus/Tenoch titlan' is derived from the following Sanskrit words – a) Mexico-Makshika (Sanskrit), makhi-( Hindi ), ‘ a fly ‘ in English. b) Tenus/ Tenoch- Perhaps from Dhanush ( Sanskrit),Dhanush ( Hindi), ‘a bow ‘ c) Titlan –titli (Hindi), which means a butterfly.( The Hindi word ‘ titli’ appears to have evolved from the Sanskrit word ' chitra' of the Sanskrit word 'chitra patangam'.

– which  means' a picturesque insect’/butterfly. (chitra -titra -titli.) 

d) Thus the word Mexico Tenoch/Tenus Titlan means –' a fly -a bow butterfly'.-(a butterfly which is shaped like a bow. e) Thus Mexico means ‘the land of the Monarch Butterfly’. 4. The word ‘ Dhanush ‘ is also the name of a constellation in Indian Astronomy. It is called Sagittarius in the West. Perhaps the arrival of these butterflies to Mexico takes place at the time when the Sun is in the constellation Sagittarius.

5.          Another important information I gathered from the Wikipedia is that the arrival of these butterflies to Mexico coincides with the ' Day of the Dead'- on which day the deceased relatives return to their homes. I feel that these butterflies were somehow responsible for spreading of smallpox in the region, causing the death of thousands and thousands of natives some six  hundred years ago. Perhaps the natives thought that since these butterflies took thousands of lives along with them during their northern migration in the spring, they would bring back their dead relatives, when they return to Mexico and other southern  regions during the months of September/ October - the period when the Sun enters the constellation ' Dhanush '/ Sagittarius.  In this connection the following observation made in ‘Mexican skies.com/ constellations/Sagittarius.htm’ is also note worthy- “Sagittarius is a Centaur .....  It is represented as mischievous and malevolent ...both Centaurs (seen on either side of the Milky Way) however appear to have killer instinct.117.221.90.5 (talk) 16:00, 14 July 2013 (UTC) BksatyanarayanaReply

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Requested move 6 July 2021 edit

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: no consensus to move. ErikHaugen (talk | contribs) 18:54, 16 July 2021 (UTC)Reply


Name of MexicoEtymology of Mexico – This is meant to match Etymology of Oregon; WP:PRECISE seems to apply in this case. Catchpoke (talk) 02:06, 6 July 2021 (UTC)Reply

Most of the articles in that category discusses etymology. It would not be a problem to change {{main}} to {{main|etymology of mexico}}. Catchpoke (talk) 20:55, 14 July 2021 (UTC)Reply
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.