Why go
Knowing the name makes the cenotes more than landmarks on a map. It also helps explain why signs and books use Chichen Itza, Chichén Itzá and Chichen Itza’ for the same ancient city, while older chronicles record another contested name.
The full story
The Maya name is commonly rendered “at the mouth of the well of the Itza.” Chi’ means mouth or edge, and ch’e’en means well. Itza names a group that gained political and economic prominence in northern Yucatán. “Enchanter of the water” has been proposed as one interpretation of Itza, but it should not be treated as a settled translation. Spanish writes the place as Chichén Itzá; the accent marks show stress on the final syllable of each word. A Maya spelling, Chichen Itza’, marks sounds that Spanish spelling does not. The apostrophe in Itza’ indicates a glottal stop. The books of Chilam Balam and inscriptions also preserve an earlier city name, variously written Uuc Yabnal, Uuc Hab Nal, Uucyabnal or Uc Abnal. Its first element is generally understood as seven, while the rest remains disputed. These variants reflect problems of spelling and interpretation, not four securely identified cities.