one who produces and cares for flowers or gives flowers; perhaps the root verb is maca (to give) instead of mani (in the manner of); glyphs will show a hand-held bouquet, which may remind us that maitl (hand) is at the root of maca
Xochimanqui (Sochimanque, Xochimanques), flower dealers, ii., 315; iii., 420 (from the index)
The Nahua name Xochimaqui appears multiple times in the Matrícula de Huexotzinco, never with the internal "n" that we see in Bancroft (above) which could support the presence of the verb maca, to give/offer. Juan José Batalla Rosado (personal communication, January 4, 2023) prefers xochimaqui over xochimanqui.
There are several Xochimanca town names in Mexico (and perhaps this should be Xochimancan). Perhaps in the town name, the "man" comes from the verb mani, to be stretched out, plus "can" (a locative telling where). (SW)
xochimanqui = el cuidador y productor de flores