Eztli as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Eztli

What is the meaning of the name Eztli ?

The baby name Eztli is a Unisex name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈest͡ɬi/ (approx. "ES-tlee", Nahuatl 'tl' = [t͡ɬ]).

Eztli is Nahuatl in Origin.

Deriving from Classical Nahuatl, a Uto-Aztecan language, Eztli is the common noun for “blood.” The final -tli is the absolutive noun ending, and the z represents an s-like sound; an English approximation is ES-tlee. The word is widely attested in early colonial Nahuatl sources (e.g., Molina’s 1571 Vocabulario) and in modern Nahua speech, carrying connotations of life force and kinship.

While not a conventional personal name in precolonial records, Eztli has seen modern revival from the late 20th century onward among Nahua communities and the broader Indigenous and Chicanx diaspora, used as a gender-neutral given name. Variants include Eztlí (with accent in Spanish contexts to mark stress) and Estli (phonetic simplification). Note that similar-looking Nahuatl names Itztli/Iztli (“obsidian”) and Ixtli (“face”) are etymologically distinct. Chosen today for its concise power, Eztli evokes vitality, ancestry, sacrifice, and courage.