Nahuatl is commonly known today as "Aztec." However, the inhabitants of the city-state México-Tenochtitlán called themselves "Mexicas" or "Tenochcas" and never "Aztecs," which is a foreign appellation. Besides, Nahuatl was the language of much more than just the Mexicas (and the Tezcocans): it was the lingua franca of the entire Valley of México, comprising many city-states, stemming back to the fabled Toltec city Tula and probably to Teotihuacán.
Today Nahuatl-speaking people are still one of México's largest Indigenous groups, numbering over one million people spread over the central parts of the country. Most call themselves "Mexicas" today. Nahuatl-speaking people are also now commonly called "Nahuas."
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