At a Glance
- Meaning
- Muddy water (most likely, referring to the Belize River); a rival Maya theory gives 'road to Itzá'
- Origin
- Maya (disputed, place name)
- Gender
- Unisex
- Pronunciation
- buh-LEEZ
Belize is a Maya (disputed, place name) unisex name meaning “muddy water (most likely, referring to the Belize River); a rival Maya theory gives 'road to Itzá'”. It appears in 2 of our baby name lists.
Meaning & Origin of Belize
Meaning: Muddy water (most likely, referring to the Belize River); a rival Maya theory gives 'road to Itzá'.
Origin: Maya (disputed, place name).
A common claim: Often said to derive from Scottish pirate Peter Wallace's surname, filtered through Spanish pronunciation. Actually: Modern scholars dismiss the Wallace/pirate story as a colonial-era myth; the likelier source is Maya balix/belix, 'muddy water,' referring to the Belize River.
Source: Wiktionary.
How to Pronounce Belize
buh-LEEZIPA /bəˈliːz/
Popularity of Belize
Belize doesn’t appear in U.S. Social Security birth records, which include every name given to at least five babies in a year — so it’s rare in the U.S.
Lists That Include Belize
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Similar Names
Merida · Kingston · Carmen · Ponce · Oaxaca · Montego
