Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Guatemala” come from?

Guatemala derives from Nahuatl cuauhtēmallān, composed of cuauhtli (eagle) and -tlān (place of), literally meaning place of eagles.

Ancestry of “Guatemala”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1SpanishGuatemalaGuatemala
2Classical NahuatlCuauhtēmallānIximché
3Classical Nahuatl-tlānplace; place suffix; place of

Words derived from “Guatemala”

  • Guatemalan
  • Guatemalanness
Every word from Classical Nahuatl -tlān →