Catálogo alfabético de apellidos

The Catálogo alfabético de apellidos ( _en. Alphabetical Catalog of Surnames) is a book of surnames published in the Philippines in the mid-19th century. This was in response to a Spanish colonial decree establishing the systematic distribution of family names and the imposition of the Spanish naming system on the inhabitants of the Philippines.

The book was created after Spanish Captain and Governor General Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa issued a decree on November 21, 1849, in response to the inconsistencies in the way Filipinos arbitrarily chose surnames. Following the Christianisation of the Philippines, many Filipinos chose surnames such as "de los Santos", "de la Cruz", "del Rosario", and "Bautista" for their religious significance; even today these surnames are perhaps the most common. Many other Filipinos also chose surnames of well-known chieftains such as Lacandola. Furthermore, many people within the same family had different surnames. This created difficulties for the Spanish colonial authorities, who found that it hindered their ability to perform a census of the archipelago's inhabitants, as well as complicating the collection of taxes.

Organization

The book itself consists of 141 pages. The surnames are arranged in 6 columns with at most 72 surnames per column. Despite the title, the surnames are not strictly listed alphabetically (after "Gandain" is "Ganavacas" then "Gandoy", and "Balledor" is listed under "V").

All of the letters of the Spanish alphabet are represented except for the letters "I" (in the Spanish orthography of the time "Y" was used instead of an initial "I"), "K" and "W" (non-existent in the Spanish alphabet) and "X" (due to a consonant shift, earlier surnames like Ximénez were spelled Jiménez, with a J, by that time.)

ource of surnames

The surnames were culled from many Philippine languages, including Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon, and others. Spanish, however, provided the bulk of the surnames.

Many of the words from Philippine languages come from a wide variety of themes such as nature, vegetation, geography, and others.

Examples of surnames include "Daquila" (modern form/orthography:"dakila";noble), "Balani" (magnetism), "Malaqui" ("malaki"; big), "Dimatulac" ("'di matulak"; can't be pushed), "Lagip" (Ilokano: memory), "Puti" (white), "Talong" (eggplant), "Maliuanag" ("maliwanag"; bright), "Mabanglo" (Ilokano: fragrant), "Tumacder" ("tumakder", Ilokano: to stand up), and "Ycasiam" ("ikasiyam/ika-9"; ninth).

Curiously, potentially offensive words were also included as surnames, including "Gajasa" ("gahasa"; rape, rash), "Bayot" (Cebuano: homosexual), "Bacla" ("bakla"; homosexual), "Otot" ("utot"; flatulence), "Tanga" (stupid), "Limotin" ("limutin"; forgetful), "Lubut" (Cebuano: buttocks), "Tae" (excrement), "Ongoy" ("unggoy"; monkey), "Aso" (dog), "Jalimao" ("halimaw"; monster)and "Yyac" ("iiyak"; will cry).

Words and surnames derived from Spanish include "Santos", "Villafuerte", "Lectura", "Orlanda", "Escribano", "Escritor", "Evangelista", "Villaroman", "Javier", "Loco", "Bajo", "Maestro", "Buensuceso", "Buey", "Orante", "Rivera", "Yncredulidad", "Jurisprudencia" and "Hidalgo". Surnames from Christianization and place names are also Spanish. One of the rarest surname among the others is the surname "Baltero Cruz" which exists only in Cavite City. Other surnames from Christianization include "Cruz", "de Dios", "de Jesús", "de Santos", "de los Reyes", "Gracia", "Isidro", "Jose", "Miguel", "Resurreccion", "Reyes", "San Agustin", "San Antonio", "San Francisco", "San Gabriel", "Santa Barbara", "Santo Domingo", and "Santo Rosario". Place names maybe in native Spain or outside this: from Spain include "Ávila", "Arévalo", "Alcántara", "Bustamante", "Cáceres", "Galicia", "Foz", "Madrid", "Santander", "Tolosa", and "España" itself; from other countries or regions include "Africa", "America", "Austria", "Alemania" (Germany), "Belgica" (Belgium), "Benin", "Brasil/Brazil", and "Ysrael" (modern orthography: "Israel"). Surnames from Philippine place names were also given by Spaniards and these include "Bacolod", "Basilan", and "Davao".

Words from other languages include Chinese ("Chua", "Fang", "Quinzon", "Yi", "Jonson", "Hizon"), Malay ("Gadya"), Arabic ("Sulayman"), Catalan ("Ortells", "Llop", "Puig", "Lletget") and Basque ("Echevarria", "Legazpi", "Labadia", "Peñarredondo".) There are even surnames from Latin ("Rex"), German ("Ymbrecht"), Italian ("Buffardessi", "Parco") and English ("James", "Doughman", "Burton", "Gray").

There are also surnames whose origins are unknown: "Odgial", "Lundete", "Bux", "Cheregumi", "Yaeld", "Zaerg", "Jevod-vod", "Gaxual", "Fuñigan", "Coppocopyo", "Gleyoni", "Heorlas", "Nealloc", "Niex", "Micarabungbung", among many others.

Dissemination of surnames

According to the decree, a copy of the catalog was to be distributed to the provincial heads of the archipelago. From there, a certain number of surnames, based on population, were sent to each barangay's parish priest. The head of each barangay, along with another town official or two, was present when the father or the oldest person in each family chose a surname for his or her family.

Several groups were exempt from having to choose new surnames:

*Those possessing a previously adopted surname (whether indigenous or foreign) already on the list; or, if not on the list, not prohibited due to ethnic origin or being too common.

*Families who had already adopted a prohibited surname but could prove their family had used the name for at least four consecutive generations. (These were names prohibited for being too common, like "de los Santos", "de la Cruz", or for other reasons.)

Because of the mass implementation of Spanish surnames in the Philippines, a Spanish surname might not necessarily indicate Spanish ancestry and can make it difficult for Filipinos to accurately trace their lineage.

Actual application

The actual application of assigning surnames widely varied from town to town and from province to province. The provinces of Camarines (now Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur) and Tayabas (now Quezon Province) were known to enforce this rule strictly, while parts of Laguna simply ignored the decree.

In the town of Oas, Albay, for instance, many surnames there begin with the letter "R" such as "Roa", "Reburiano", and "Rebajante". On the island of Banton, Romblon, surnames that begin with the letter "F" are prevalent such as "Festin", "Fadrilan", "Famatigan", "Fabicon", "Faigao", etc.

Also, in the town of Sta. Cruz, Zambales, many surnames begin with the letter "M" such as "Morados", "Mayo", "Movilla", "Mose", etc.

Surnames starting with "Villa" and "Al" are abundant in the town of Argao, Cebu. Some surnames are: "Villaluz", "Villaflor", "Villamor", "Villanueva", "Albo", "Alcain", "Alcarez", "Algones", etc.

Since there are potentially at most 61,000 surnames in the book, not all of the surnames were used.

External links

* [http://www.bibingka.com/names/ Catalog of Filipino Names] by Hector Santos.
* [http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/9121/surnames.html Philippine Surnames] by Precy Ordinario.

References

*cite book | author=Clavería y Zaldúa, Narciso | title=Catálogo alfabético de apellidos (reprint) | publisher=Philippine National Archives, Manila | year=1849, 1973 | id=