The name "Acatlán" comes from a combination of two Nahuatl words: acatl, for "cane" or "reed", and tlan, for "together" or "close". The name Osorio was in honor of Don Joaquín Osorio. The Mexitecan's who ruled this area prior to the Spanish incursion called it Yucuyuxi. Acatlán was the capital of a state that was tributary to the Aztec Empire.