Tequilla

Meaning & origin

Tequilla is a rare modern name that first entered U.S. birth records in 1958, nearly a decade after the drink tequila began gaining mainstream American popularity. The name reached its highest usage in 1978, the peak year for this invented spelling variant, though it has never appeared in the national top 1000. With a stable trajectory in recent decades, Tequilla remains a niche choice, often grouped with other beverage-inspired or creative phonetic names from the 1970s. No state recorded the name with enough frequency to appear in the top states list, underscoring its scattered, low-volume use across the country.

Tequilla is a respelling of the Spanish word 'tequila', which refers to a distilled spirit made from the blue agave plant. The name of the drink itself comes from the town of Tequila in Jalisco, Mexico, a name of Nahuatl origin meaning 'place of tribute' or 'place of cutting'. As a personal name, Tequilla first appears in U.S. records in the late 1950s, likely inspired by the growing popularity of the drink in American culture. It saw its greatest use in the 1970s, peaking in 1978. The spelling with double 'l' is a creative variant, likely intended to soften or feminize the original word.