Chumash is the name of an indigenous people native to the coastal regions of what is now California and Northern Baja California. The name "Chumash" stems from the Chumash word "Tsitmux", which means "southerners" or "southern men". The term "Chumash" was first applied to this group of people by the Spanish during the late 18th century, when the Spanish referred to all the Native American peoples living along the coast of Alta California as "Chumash". This term was later adopted by the Chumash people themselves and has been in use ever since.