Nueva México or Nuevo México

Nueva Mà ©xico or Nuevo Mà ©xico Both Nueva Mà ©xico or Nuevo Mà ©xico  are in fairly common use, and an argument can even be made for a third spelling, Nuevo Mà ©jico. But, the strongest argument rests with Nuevo Mà ©xico, for two main reasons: Nuevo Mà ©xico is the spelling used by the Diccionario de la lengua espaà ±ola, the Royal Spanish Academys dictionary and the closest thing there is to an internationally accepted standard for the language.Nuevo Mà ©xico is the spelling that appears to be preferred by the New Mexico state government. While the feminine form can be found occasionally on state-run websites, the masculine form is far, far more common. Both the masculine and feminine forms have a long history. The first well-known book about the area - an epic poem and travelogue - was Historia de la Nueva Mà ©xico written by Capitn Gaspar de Villagr in 1610. Indeed, many older writings use the feminine form, while the masculine form predominates today. The default gender for place names is masculine for place names that dont end in an unstressed -a. But the New place names are a common exception - for example, New York is Nueva York and New Jersey is Nueva Jersey. New Orleans is Nueva Orlens, although that can be explained by its derivation from the French name, which is feminine. Both Nueva Hampshire and Nuevo Hampshire are used in referring to New Hampshire. Theres a Nueva Londres in Paraguay, and the city of New London in Connecticut is sometimes referred to by that name as well in Spanish-language texts. Perhaps it is the influence of the many Nueva place names that encourages continued use of Nueva Mà ©xico in popular speech and writing. As to the use of  Nuevo Mà ©jico (the pronunciation is the same as for Nuevo Mà ©xico, where the x is pronounced like the Spanish j, not as in English), its considered an acceptable spelling by the Academy. Its the spelling used in state law for the pledge to the state flag and in the Spanish-language state song. However, there is also a bilingual state song, and it uses the spelling Nuevo Mà ©xico. So take your pick.