The word 'Yucatecan' originates from the name of the Yucatán Peninsula in southeastern Mexico. The toponym 'Yucatán' itself has a contested origin, most famously from early Spanish accounts suggesting it derived from a misunderstanding of a Maya phrase meaning "I don't understand you." The English suffix '-an', of Latin origin via French, is a common denominal suffix used to form adjectives and nouns meaning "belonging to" or "relating to" a place or person (e.g., American, European). Thus, 'Yucatecan' logically constructs the meaning "of or pertaining to Yucatán," specifically referencing its indigenous Maya inhabitants, their culture, and their language.

This is a proper adjective/noun derived from a toponym. It is not productively formed from separable English morphemes but is a direct adaptation of the place name "Yucatán" with the English adjectival suffix "-an".