The municipal seat is the city of Xalapa Enríquez; in everyday usage, however, the city is generally referred to by the shorter name Xalapa.

Its name comes from the Nahuatl roots "Xallapan" which means "spring in the sand." The Totonacas were the first peoples who established around "Macuiltepetl" hill. During the 14th century, four cultures established in the territory today known as Xalapa. Each of them build a small village: Xallitic (in the sand) founded by the Totonacas; Techacapan (river of waste) founded by the Chichimecas; at the northeast Tecuanapan (river of the beasts) founded by the Toltecas and Tlalnecapan founded by the Teochichimecas.

Eventually, the four villages grew and joined forming one big village which was given the name Xallapan.

Moctezuma Ilhuicamina, fifth Aztec Emperor, invaded the territory during the second half of the 15th century; therefore all the land came to posession of the Aztec Empire until the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores.

Jalapeño peppers are named after this city.

It has been a sister city of Covina, California since 1964.

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