I came across the name [name_f]Itzel[/name_f] today as I was browsing through the new SSA list. It struck me as a unique, spunky name that feels a combination of modern and vintage. When I started researching, I found that [name_f]Itzel[/name_f] has Mayan roots as deriving from the [name_f]Maya[/name_f] goddess Ix Chel, who was a jaguar goddess of fertility and midwifery. She was also known as the Mood [name_f]Goddess[/name_f] or [name_f]Rainbow[/name_f] [name_f]Goddess[/name_f]. Everything about the name (the look, the sound, the meaning) is very intriguing to me and I can’t stop thinking about it! It fits right in with [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] and [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] and [name_f]Isla[/name_f]. I have never met an [name_f]Itzel[/name_f] but it ranks at number 424 and has stayed steady mostly between 400-700 since it entered in 1993.
What are your thoughts on [name_f]Itzel[/name_f]? Like, love, hate, neutral? Initial impressions? What do you picture an [name_f]Itzel[/name_f] looking like?
I like that [name_f]Itzel[/name_f] got a combination of “images” from blonde to Mayan I couldn’t decide what a little [name_f]Itzel[/name_f] would look like either. I know the roots of the name are very Mexican/Mayan/Native so I am worried I won’t be able to pull it off. BUT I am blonde haired blue eyes and my fiance is part Native American so he has very dark features and is always tan lol. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you guys think it could work even if we aren’t Hispanic?
[name_f]Itzel[/name_f] is pretty but probably would work better in some communities than others. If you are in a more [name_m]German[/name_m]/ic influenced area (midwest, Pennsylvania) I would say probably not but if you are in a more multicultural area I think it could work quite nicely. And as it is a Mayan name it would be more appropriate for a native american heritage than a Hispanic heritage imho.
[name_f]Itzel[/name_f] is absolutely gorgeous and it’s history is amazing. I came across it a few years ago on a TV show which had twin girls [name_f]Itzel[/name_f] and [name_f]Celeste[/name_f] (so lovely together).
It sounds like a pet name (like, that someone might call her child as a cute little thing,) not a real, full name. Honestly, it sounds Yiddish or [name_m]German[/name_m] to me, and not really appealing.
I have met an [name_f]Itzel[/name_f] before. I really cannot stand the name. To me, it is very foreign sounding in a bad way…almost sounds like a disease, [name_f]IMO[/name_f]. I personally would advise you to only use it in the middle spot.
Agreed. For some reason, I always think of [name_f]Idina[/name_f] Menzel when I hear it, too (probably because I just smoosh [name_f]Idina[/name_f] and Menzel!), so I sort of picture a little [name_f]Idina[/name_f] Menzel. I’ve always found her rather whiny and selfish in the roles I’ve seen her in (which, in her defense, is extremely limited), so I sort of project that onto [name_f]Itzel[/name_f], which I shouldn’t. It’s a nice name, but I like other Mayan/Mexican/Nahuatl names more (especially [name_f]Xochitl[/name_f]!). I would be happy to meet a little [name_f]Itzel[/name_f], though, and I find it intriguing that it ranks as high as it does, because I’ve never met one, either. (Much like [name_u]Eden[/name_u] on a boy, I would think–it’s consistently ranked at about 600-something, but I’ve never heard of a little boy named [name_u]Eden[/name_u], or that someone knows someone who has a little boy [name_u]Eden[/name_u]–in fact, I rarely even hear it brought up on name boards! I think [name_f]Itzel[/name_f] might be like that. Sort of familiar, but very much under the radar still.)
On the surface I do like Itzel, and I can see why it appeals. I do think you can “pull it off,” so to speak. On the other hand, I also think names like these carry a certain responsibility and should be handled with care because they stem from another culture and potentially do still carry significance to that culture. I’m not saying you have to go overboard and haul her on a two-year sojourn around the globe, but if you choose it, use it as a springboard to teach your daughter about Mayan culture and to have respect for other cultures in general. Take the opportunity to broaden her world.
For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t worry a whole lot about your daughter’s features and/or coloring matching the name. Pick something that moves you, because looks don’t necessarily tell you anything concrete about the person’s background. I had a good friend in high school who was half Lakota, but he had light sandy hair, an ivory complexion, and bright blue eyes; you wouldn’t know he had a drop of Native ancestry just to glance at him. My older brother similarly has some African ancestry through his biological father, who was very dark, but my brother looks completely Norwegian and my newborn nephew has red hair and blue eyes! Genetics just kind of do what they want, no matter what you hypothesize the baby might look like. My point here is to go with your heart and your gut when you decide on a name, as you have no control over how much of your or your fiance’s genetics will show up. If you go with Itzel and she turns out to be blonde and blue-eyed, she’ll still wear the name just fine, and after a while no one will even quirk an eyebrow. She’ll just be Itzel.
I couldn’t decide what a little [name_f]Itzel[/name_f] would look like either. I know the roots of the name are very Mexican/Mayan/Native so I am worried I won’t be able to pull it off. BUT I am blonde haired blue eyes and my fiance is part Native American so he has very dark features and is always tan lol. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you guys think it could work even if we aren’t Hispanic?