Ancient history

Where did word Aztec come from?

The word "Aztec" is derived from the Nahuatl word "Azteca", which is a shortened form of "Aztlaneca", which means "people of Aztlan". Aztlan was the legendary home of the Aztecs, located somewhere in the north of Mexico, and the Aztecs referred to themselves as "Mexica" or "Tenochca", after their capital city Tenochtitlan. The term "Aztec" was first used by Alexander von Humboldt, a German explorer and naturalist who visited Mexico in the early 19th century.