Say that again, please?

[isoldereverie.livejournal.com]

I hope some of you can enlighten me a bit on these names. I hope they are more cultural than fadish, but we never know, do we? The mom came into where I work the other day and I noticed her daughters' names. They are very unusual, seem hard on the eye, and even after I over heard Mom speaking to the little girls, I had to ask her how to pronounce the names.

Xochitl -little girl, about 3 years old, Latino I believe if that helps at all.
Xitlali -baby girl around 7 months, sister to the other girl

I realize the letter "X" is enjoying a peak in popularity. It's almost like "X" is the new "Y!" ;p Variations like Xach (for Zach),  Xander, Xane (for Zane) and so forth. These girls' names seemed to have reached a different level though. So, does anyone know a possible origin or background for these names? Are they cultural or just out there?

Oh yeah, as best as I can recall, XOCHITL was pronounced "SHO-tull" and XITLALI was pronounced "sit-LA-lee" <-- much more sure of this pronounciation than the other.

Comments

[elemmennope.livejournal.com]

Xochitl is, I believe, an Aztec? Very old, fairly common in Mexico I think. I've seen it quite a bit. Xitlali is not one I've seen before, but I'm guessing it has the same roots.

[colliemommie.livejournal.com]

Both Mayan and Aztec languages pronounce X as a "sh" sound, and the "tl" letter combination is pretty common in names from both cultures, so that would be my guess.

[spikes-sexkitty.livejournal.com]

those are Nahuatl (Aztec) names - prior to the spanish influence/conquest.

Xochitl (SOH-chee) means 'flower' and is actually a tradionally masculine name but in recent years is being used more for girls.

Xitlali (f) is a form of Citlali (m) and it means 'star'.

people from Mexico who are not of pure spanish ancestry, are decendants of the Aztecs and the Nahuatl language is still spoken, but mostly in rural and less 'civilized' parts of mexico. there are plenty of Mexicans who are proud of their country, it's history and their blood and hate the spanish language b/c it is synonymous with the massacre of their ancestors and the destruction of their language and heritage.

the use of the 'x' in these names is NOT trying to be trendy or kree8yve - it is entirely cultural and many words/names in the Nahuatl language use x's and tl's and have a very non-english spelling with a pronunciation you wouldn't expect (this may help: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/3088/nahuatl.html )

btw, both girls have GORGEOUS names :)

[rewashed.livejournal.com]

They're both Aztec and I think their names are precious (:

[isoldereverie.livejournal.com]

I knew you guys would come through! Thanks for the info. I love learning about different names and different cultures. That's one of my favorite parts about this community. I was not familiar with any Aztec names. The meanings are lovely and I suppose the spellings would just take getting used to.

Just after reading those responses, I remembered a kids TV show from oh gosh 10 years ago? Called Xu-Xa pronounced Shoo Shah I think. Anyone else remember that show?

[aquilinum.livejournal.com]

Xuxa has no connections to Aztec or Nahuatl culture, to my knowledge; she's Brazilian, where X is pronounced like the English "sh" sound. So yes, Shoosha.

[isoldereverie.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...I wonder if Portuguese has any other similarities to the Aztec language.

[aquilinum.livejournal.com]

Any would be coincidental. Remember that Aztec culture predates the Spanish colonization, and Portuguese only arrived in Brazil from Europe.

[isoldereverie.livejournal.com]

Yes. I'm sure that the Portuguese spoken in Brazil resembles European Portuguese about as much as American English does the Queen's English! lol Just a random thought.

[aquilinum.livejournal.com]

That's probably a fair comparison. Funnily enough, I'm a first generation American living in the UK — but I was raised by Brazilian parents (and all my relatives still live in Brazil). This may be the first time in this community that all those factors are relevant to a discussion.

[isoldereverie.livejournal.com]

That's awesome! lol :D

[nandy-pandy.livejournal.com]

Maybe they have some Native ancestry. I have a Mexican friend with, I think it's a Mayan name. It's definitely unusual, but it's a beautiful name, and it pays homage to her roots.

[nandy-pandy.livejournal.com]

Okay, after reading the other comments, maybe my friend's name is Aztec after all. My bad~

[fleckerbug.livejournal.com]

They are Mayan.

Xochitl= 'So-She'
Xitlali-- think you have that one right.

I've encountered Sitlali, but spelled more like that than Xitlali, and the child was Indian.