A bit ago I completed Everyday Life of the Maya by Ralph Whitlock and during my reading ran across some interesting information regarding Maya names that I've been meaning to post. LOL

Apparently, every Maya had four names and the were broken down as thus - his/her private name which was given to the child at the naming ceremony (corresponds with our given name), the second was his/her father's family name, then there was his/her mother's name (or in some cases, a combination of the names of both the father's and mother's family) and then finally the child would be given a nickname.

The nickname seems to have been the most used name, used in lieu of the private name. Private names began with "Ah" when masculine and "Ix" when feminine. And as if that wasn't enough names, at the time of marriage a new name was taken that comprised elements of both the husband's and wife's name.

Wow...that's a lot of names! LOL