Filipino Baby Names, Meanings and Origins
Filipino names sit at the meeting point of several distinct influences: Spanish colonial history, Chinese immigration, and pre-colonial native languages like Tagalog, which is why the same list of “Filipino names” can include Maria, Tan, and Liwayway side by side. A full Filipino name also follows a specific structure that surprises many outsiders, since the middle name is traditionally the mother’s own family name, not a separate given name.
How Filipino names are structured
In the traditional Philippine naming system, a person’s middle name is their mother’s maiden surname, while their last name is their father’s surname, a structure confirmed by sources including Cultural Atlas and Wikipedia’s overview of Filipino naming. So a child named Juan, born to a mother whose maiden name was Reyes and a father surnamed Santos, would formally be Juan Reyes Santos. This is also why some Filipino given names are blended from both parents’ names, such as Joseph and Maria combining into Jomari.
Filipino names for girls
- Maria (Spanish in origin, historically one of the most common given names in the Philippines due to Spanish Catholic influence)
- Liwayway (Tagalog, meaning dawn)
- Mutya (Tagalog, meaning precious one or muse)
- Ligaya (Tagalog, meaning joy)
- Rosario (Spanish, meaning rosary)
- Carmen (Spanish, tied to the Marian title Our Lady of Mount Carmel)
- Remedios (Spanish, tied to a Marian title meaning “remedies”)
- Corazon (Spanish, meaning heart; notably the name of former Philippine president Corazon Aquino)
- Josefina (Spanish, the feminine form of Joseph)
- Fe (Spanish, meaning faith)
- Diwata (Tagalog, referring to a deity or nature spirit)
- Luningning (Tagalog, meaning radiance or brilliance)
- Marikit (Tagalog, meaning beautiful)
- Bituin (Tagalog, meaning star)
- Maganda (Tagalog, meaning beautiful; the name of the legendary first woman in a widely cited Philippine creation story, paired with Malakas)
Browse girl names by letter
Namelyra’s general girl-name pages, if a specific letter doesn’t have Filipino names covered here:
Filipino names for boys
- Bayani (Tagalog, meaning hero)
- Dakila (Tagalog, meaning great or noble)
- Agustin (Spanish, the Filipino form of Augustine)
- Datu (Tagalog, historically a title for a chieftain or ruler, also used as a given name)
- Jomari (a modern blended name combining Joseph and Maria)
- Fernando (Spanish, commonly read as meaning “brave journey” or “bold voyager”)
- Emilio (Spanish, Latin in origin, commonly read as meaning rival or eager)
- Vicente (Spanish, the Filipino form of Vincent, meaning “to conquer”)
- Rodrigo (Spanish, Germanic in origin, commonly read as meaning “famous ruler”)
- Ramon (Spanish, Germanic in origin, commonly read as meaning “wise protector”)
- Lakan (Tagalog, historically a title for a chief or lord, later used as a given name)
- Malakas (Tagalog, meaning strong; the name of the legendary first man in a widely cited Philippine creation story, paired with Maganda)
Browse boy names by letter
Namelyra’s general boy-name pages, if a specific letter doesn’t have Filipino names covered here:
Filipino surnames
Most Filipino surnames trace back to the 1849 Claveria Decree, issued by Spanish colonial governor-general Narciso Claveria, which required Filipino families to adopt a fixed, standardized surname from an official catalog, a history confirmed by Encyclopedia Britannica. That catalog included Spanish surnames as well as indigenous Philippine words, so not every “old” Filipino surname is actually Spanish. A separate and sizable share of Filipino surnames come from the Philippines’ large Chinese-Filipino community.
- Santos (Spanish, meaning saints, one of the most common surnames from the Claveria catalog)
- Reyes (Spanish, meaning kings)
- Cruz (Spanish, meaning cross)
- Tan (Chinese in origin, the most common Chinese-Filipino surname in the Philippines)
- Lim (Chinese in origin, another common Chinese-Filipino surname)
Filipino nicknames
Filipino culture has a strong tradition of using an informal name in daily life instead of a person’s registered full name. Names like Jun, Boyet, and Toto are commonly used as a person’s everyday name among family and friends rather than as an occasional pet name, which is part of why Filipino names can look unfamiliar to English speakers who only see the formal version. It’s also common for Filipino women’s formal names to carry a “Ma.” prefix short for Maria, as in Ma. Cristina or Ma. Theresa.
Quick facts
| Middle name | Traditionally the mother’s maiden surname, not a separate given name |
| Common surname origin | The 1849 Claveria Decree, which required families to adopt a standardized surname |
| Other surname origin | Chinese-Filipino surnames such as Tan and Lim, reflecting the Philippines’ Chinese community |
| Everyday names | Many Filipinos go by an informal name, like Jun or Boyet, rather than their registered full name |
Frequently asked questions
Do Filipinos have middle names?
Yes, but it works differently than in many Western countries. A Filipino middle name is traditionally the mother’s own maiden surname, used to record maternal lineage alongside the father’s surname.
Why do Filipinos have Spanish last names?
Most trace back to the 1849 Claveria Decree, a Spanish colonial law that required Filipino families to adopt a fixed, standardized surname from an official catalog, which included both Spanish and indigenous Philippine names.
What is the most common surname in the Philippines?
Santos and Reyes, both Spanish in origin and tied to the Claveria Decree, are among the most common Filipino surnames.
Why do some Filipino surnames sound Chinese?
The Philippines has a long-established Chinese-Filipino community, and surnames like Tan and Lim reflect Chinese ancestry rather than the Spanish colonial naming history behind most other Filipino surnames.
Why do Filipino names seem unique or unusual?
It usually comes down to a combination of factors: the mother’s-maiden-name-as-middle-name structure, blended names created from both parents’ names, and a strong everyday nickname culture, none of which map directly onto Western naming conventions.