Atl as a constituent part of the name ‘Atlantis’ is frequently associated with the Mexican Nahuatl word for water. However, Antoine Gigal, the Egyptologist, in a 2011 interview(a), has pointed out that ‘atl’ is also the Egyptian word for canal! Her intention was to get off the subject of Atlantis, but she may have inadvertently given additional ammunition to those that claim some cultural links between ancient Egypt and Mesoamerica.
*In the seventeenth century, Olof Rudbeck proposed that ‘Atle’ the name of an ancient Swedish king was in fact a variant of Atlas.This tenuous link combined with some other coincidences encouraged Rudbeck to claim Sweden as Atlantis.*
All this highlights the need for caution when using single words to bolster any theory; similarity should not be confused with identity.