There are two possible origins for the name Zihuatanejo. One origin might be from the Purépecha language meaning "water of the yellow mountain"; another possible origin might be from Nahuatl (Cihuacan) meaning "place of women." Cihuacan, or "place of women", refers to the western paradise of the Nahuatl universe, the home of the "goddess women". According to tradition, these women arose in the afternoon to lead the sun at dusk to the realm of the dead, Mictlan, to give a dim light to the dead. "De Azueta" is in honor of José Azueta, who died fighting a U.S. incursion into the country in Veracruz in 1914.