Toluca

Toluca [toˈluka], officially called Toluca de Lerdo [toˈluka ðe ˈleɾðo], is the state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. It is the center of a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. It is located 63 kilometres (39 mi) west-southwest of Mexico City, about 40 minutes by car to the western edge of the city. According to the 2010 census, the city of Toluca has a population of 819,561.[2] The city is the fifth largest in Mexico by population. The municipality of Toluca, along with thirteen other municipalities, make up the metropolitan population of 2,116,506 in Greater Toluca as of 2015[update],[3] making it the fifth most populous metropolitan area in Mexico.

When Toluca was founded by the Matlatzincas, its original name was Nepintahihui (land of corn, tierra del maíz). The current name is based on the Náhuatl name for the area when it was renamed by the Aztecs in 1473. The name has its origin in the word tollocan that comes from the name of the god, Tolo, plus the locative suffix, can, to denote “place of Tolo”.[4] It is also referred to in a number of Aztec codices as Tolutépetl, meaning hill of the god, Tolo, an allusion to the nearby volcano.[5] The name Toluca de Lerdo was adopted in 1861 in honor of President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada.[6]