The Maya title commonly translated as “lord” or “ruler” is Ajaw.
Ajaw was a political and social title used in Maya inscriptions for members of the ruling or noble class. Depending on context, translators may render it as lord, ruler, leader, king, or queen. The more specific expression kʼuhul ajaw, often translated as “divine lord,” identified a sovereign ruler of a Maya polity, although that polity could vary greatly in size and power.
Ajaw was not restricted to men. Women rulers could bear the title, sometimes with Ix, meaning “woman,” placed before it. The title also had a religious dimension because rulers performed important ceremonies and acted as intermediaries between their communities and the supernatural world.
A common mix-up is that Ajaw is also the name of the twentieth day sign in the Tzolkʼin, the Maya divinatory calendar. It was therefore both a political title and a calendar term. Older sources often spell the word Ahau; Ajaw is the standardized modern scholarly spelling adopted in the 1990s.