The name Teúl comes from the Chichimeca phrase teulinchan, which means “dwellings of the gods.” After the Conquest, its name became San Juan Bautista de Teúl, prepending the name of its patron saint. In 1935, the suffix of “de Gonzaléz Ortega” was added. Jesús González Ortega, a governor of Zacatecas and ally of Benito Juárez, lived in the town as a boy, then returned later in life to marry.