The name Tikal may be derived from ti ak 'al in the Yucatec Maya language ; it is said to be a relatively modern name meaning " at the waterhole " . The name was apparently applied to one of the site 's ancient reservoirs by hunters and travelers in the region . It has alternatively been interpreted as meaning " the place of the voices " in the Itza Maya language . Tikal , however , ain't the ancient name for the site but rather the name adopted shortly after its discovery in the 1840s . Hieroglyphic inscriptions at the ruins refer to the ancient city as Yax Mutal or Yax Mutul , meaning " First Mutal " . Tikal may have come to have been called this because Dos Pilas also came to use the same emblem glyph ; the rulers of the city presumably wanted to distinguish themselves as the first city to bear the name . The kingdom as a whole was simply called Mutul , which is the reading of the " hair bundle " emblem glyph seen in the accompanying photo . Its precise meaning remains obscure .