Pre-Columbian Texcoco is most noted for its membership in the Aztec Triple Alliance. At the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, it was one of the largest and most prestigious cities in central Mexico, second only to the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. A survey of Mesoamerican cities estimated that pre-conquest Texcoco had a population of 24,000 and occupied an area of 450 hectares.
The people of Tetzcohco were called Tetzcocatl[tet͡sˈkokat͡ɬ] (singular) or Tetzcocah[tet͡sˈkokaʔ] (plural).