Ayotzin

• Origin: Nahuatl
• Meaning: “pumpkin, gourd, squash; or “turtle, tortoise.”
• Variant: Aiotzin.
• Gender: unisex

From the Nahuatl word ayotli (pumpkin, gourd, squash) or directly from the Nahuatl word, ayotzin (turtle, tortoise).

It was borne by a Chichimec ruler but modern use in Mexico is exclusively feminine.

Sources

• Wood, Stephanie, editor. “Ayotzin.” Online Nahuatl Dictionary, Wired Humanities Projects, College of Education, University of Oregon, 2000–present, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ayotzin. Accessed 23 Nov. 2025.
• https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ayotzin