naco

Naco is a term with several distinct meanings in geography, language, and library science.

Geography

Naco, Sonora, is a town and municipality in the northern Mexican state of Sonora, located on the Mexico–United States border opposite Naco, Arizona. Naco, Arizona, is a small border community in Cochise County, United States, adjacent to its Mexican counterpart. Both towns share a cross-border relationship and historical ties related to trade and migration.

Language

In Mexican Spanish, the term naco is a pejorative descriptor used to characterize someone considered coarse, unrefined, or of low social status. The word carries regional nuances and can be insulting, though usage and connotations vary by community and context. In some circles, it may be used jokingly or reclaimed in a self-deprecating way, but it remains potentially offensive to many.

Library science

NACO stands for the Name Authority Cooperative Program. It is part of the Library of Congress’s broader authority control framework and the Program for Cooperative Cataloging. The program enables participating libraries to contribute standardized authority records for personal and corporate names, helping to establish uniform forms and improve search and cataloging consistency across libraries.