The young protagonist of a series we recently picked up has a wonderful name I’ve never heard before: Xolo Maridueña. At first I thought it was a nod to Cholo subculture (he pronounces it the same, I think), but after a not-extensive google search discovered that it is connected to prehispanic Aztec god Xolotl (Xolotl - Wikipedia) and a Mexican dog breed called Xoloitzcuintle (Xoloitzcuintle - Wikipedia).
I’m loving this name. Of course, I wouldn’t consider it for our child. I believe this one is only truly available to people of Mexican ancestry, but I think it’s bright, strong and particularly interesting for dog lovers.
Any thoughts? Have you heard it before?
I am Mexican and actually know quite a few Xolo dogs so can’t really see it as a name for a real person. It would be like meeting someone named Poodle but I do like the sound of it.
I pronounce it Sho-lah if that makes any difference. The X has different sounds but in this case it usually is ‘sh’ or ‘ch’ as in [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]
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That’s a very interesting point. Hadn’t thought of it.
Thank you!
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Also sorry I was meant to say Sho-loh but I spelt it as Sho-lah accidentally as I was thinking of the word Xola which is also a thing.
I do think the connection to the Xolotl god is actually really nice if there is some Mexican heritage but then again it’s not one of the popular gods so people would probably make the dog association first 
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