hamlets, or outlying units related to altepetl (see Molina); is the "ma" component from maitl and the "me" a plural suffix?
Alonso de Molina:
altepemame. aldeas o aldeanos. Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, 1571, part 2, Nahuatl to Spanish, f. 4r. col. 1. Thanks to Joe Campbell for providing the transcription.