In 5th grade, my teachers struggled to pronounce my last name and looked at me every time they took attendance. I ask my parents why my other friends from Mexico did not have a name so difficult to pronounce. My parents explained to me that my name was inherited from Aztec culture, and has been passed down from father to son for generations. Having a name from the Aztec culture in the center of the city of Mexico was unusual since everyone else had Spanish names like Flores, Luz, and Lupe. I asked my parents what my name meant and they told me that it’s Aztec for peach. I was curious to know more about what my name meant so I asked other elders. My grandparents and other elders who grew up in the culture and know the language debate the meaning of my last name.Some told me that it meant peach because it derived from the word of flower that gives fruit, especially peaches. The other meaning had a more cultural background. The elders explained that many Aztec names were pieces of words for other things like gods or animals. My last name’s first part is taken from the Aztec god Xolotl, a demon deity that guides humans to the afterlife, a hairless dog or sometimes a lizard type of animal. I would like to know the true meaning of my last name or at the very least if it means peach or an afterlife demon god.

– Alex

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