FAQ

[boe]

Why the people in the philippines use their mothers family name as Middle name? Instead of using thier father family names?

[sandra]

"In the Philippines, the middle name is exclusively used to refer to the mother's maiden. For example: Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralín Marcos, in which Edralín, his mother's maiden name, is the middle name. Almost no one uses middle name to refer to the second given name."

Married and maiden names: The Philippines

Christians (as well as certain Muslims, Chinese Filipinos, and others) in the Philippines have traditionally followed naming patterns practiced throughout the Spanish-speaking world; i.e., the practice of having the father's surname followed by the mother's surname. However, this practice changed when the Philippines was a US colony in the early half of the 20th century.

Currently, the middle name is usually, though not always, the mother's maiden name followed by the father's surname. This is the opposite of what is done in Spanish-speaking countries and is similar to the way surnames are done in Portugal and Brazil.

When a woman marries, she usually adopts the surname of her husband and uses her father's surname as her middle name, dropping her mother's maiden name. When a woman whose full maiden name is Maria Santos Cojuangco marries a man by the name of Juan Agbayani, her full name would be Maria Cojuangco Agbayani. For the sake of brevity, she would be usually known at the very least as Maria Agbayani; her maiden name is usually not mentioned or it may be abbreviated as an initial. In many cases, her maiden name may be mentioned. Consequently, her children will have Cojuangco as a middle name.

Filipino women who are professionals may choose to hyphenate their surnames, at least in professional use, and use it socially even if legal documents follow the above naming pattern.


For more information see also...

Married and maiden names
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Married...he_Philippines

Middle name
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_name

No Middle Name : Philippines : Gov.Ph : Forum
http://www.gov.ph/forum/thread.asp?r...33292&catID=23

Very helpful!

Did Filipinos ever have a system of taking both their father's and their mother's last names?

Hi! I need an advise, because I do not have a middle name for the reason that I don't know my father and it is indicated in my birth certificate that my father's name is "unknown". I was using my mothers middle name and last name but when I applied for an SSS ID, they told me that I don't have a middle name. I cannot use my mother's middle name because it will look like that I'm my mother's sister, because we have the same last name and a middle name. So, I followed what I have in my birth certificate to my passport. But, when I applied for a working visa in saudi arabia, the agency said that there will be a chance that my visa will be denied because of not having a middle name. Is this true? Please help.thanks

Please email me at jho_naciz@yahoo.com