Names of the Philippines

The Philippines was named in the late 1500s after Philip, Prince of Asturias (1527–1598), later Philip II of Spain and other territories (1556–1598).

In addition to the Philippines, the islands have historically had numerous other names.

• Ma-i. According to the Zhao Rugua's (趙汝适) book Zhu Fan Zhi (诸蕃志) written around the 13th century during the Song Dynasty, there was a group of islands found in southern South China Sea called Ma-i (麻逸, Pinyin: Máyì). The islands groups were later invaded and renamed and identified by the Spanish to be the island of Mindoro.[4] This was further proved by Ferdinand Blumentritt in his 1882 book, Versuch einer Ethnographie der Philippinen (An Attempt to the Study of Ethnography of the Philippines) that Ma-i was the Chinese local name of present-day Mindoro.[5] On the other hand, historians claimed that Ma-i was not an island, but all the south of South Sea islands groups and Manila itself,[6] which was known to be an overseas Chinese settlement which was in constant contact with the Chinese mainland as early as the 9th century AD.[7]

• Ma-i consists of the Sānzhōu (三洲, "Three islands") group of islands: Kia-ma-yen (卡拉棉, Calamian), Bālāwàng (巴拉望, Palawan) and Pa-ki-nung (布桑加, Busuanga).[8]

• Aside from Sānzhōu, Ma-i also consists of the islands of Pai-p'u-yen (巴布延, Babuyan), P'u-li-lu (波利略, Polillo), Lim-kia-tung (林加延, Lingayen), Liu-sung (呂宋, Luzon) and Li-ban (盧邦, Lubang).[9] It was said that these islands had contacts with Chinese traders from Canton (Guangdong) as early as 982 AD.[5][6]

• Liusung was the name given by the Chinese to the present-day island of Luzon. It originated from the Tagalog word lusong, a wooden mortar that is used to pound rice. When the Spanish produced maps of the Philippines during the early 17th century, they called the island Luçonia which was later respelled as Luzonia, then Luzon.[10]

• Las islas de San Lázaro (St. Lazarus' Islands). Named by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 when he reached the islands of Homonhon in Samar (now Eastern Samar) on the feast day of Saint Lazarus of Bethany.[4]
• Las islas de Poniente (Islands to the West). Another name from Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 when he learned that the Las islas de San Lázaro also included Cebu and Leyte islands.[11] However, various sources claimed that Magellan was not the one who renamed the area, but his chroniclers instead. The name came from the fact that the islands were reached from Spain en route approaching the left part of the globe.[4] Conversely, the Portuguese called the archipelago Ilhas do oriente (Islands to the East) because they approached the islands from the east of Portugal in the late 1540s.[12]

• The Portuguese referred the whole island of Luzon as ilhas Luções, or Luzones Islands.[12]
• Mindanao was formerly called ilhas de Liquíos Celebes because of the existence of Celebes Sea south of Mindanao.[12]

• Las islas Felipinas (Philippine Islands/Islands belonging to Philip). Named by Ruy López de Villalobos in 1543 to Samar and Leyte, honoring the Prince of Asturias, the then Philip II of Spain.[13][14]

• Caesarea Caroli was the name given by Villalobos to the island of Mindanao when he reached the sea near it. This was named after Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (and I of Spain).[15][16][17]
• The southern island of Sarangani was renamed by Villalobos as Antonia, in honor of Antonio de Mendoza y Pacheco, the Viceroy of New Spain who commissioned Villalobos expedition to the Philippines.[14]
• Villalobos also named the littoral zone between the islands of Samar and Leyte as Tendaya.[18]

• Las islas Filipinas, or simply Filipinas (Philippines). Vernacular corruption of Las islas Felipenas; irrevocably became the archipelago's name.[4]
• Pearl of the Orient/Pearl of the Orient Seas (Spanish: Perla de oriente/Perla del mar de oriente) is the sobriquet of the Philippines. The term originated from the idea of Spanish Jesuit missionary Fr. Juan J. Delgado in 1751.[19] In his last poem Mi último adiós, Dr. José Rizal referred the country with this name.[20] In the 1960 revision of Lupang Hinirang, the Philippine national anthem, the Tagalog version of this phrase was included as the translation from the original Spanish.[21]

• The Philippine Islands. This was the anglicized form of the original Spanish name, used under direct American rule and the succeeding Commonwealth Era.[24]

• Haring Bayang Katagalugan (Sovereign Tagalog Nation). Andrés Bonifacio's suggested name for the Filipino nation, intended to be governed by the 1896–1897 Republika ng Katagalugan (Tagalog Republic), although unrecognized by non-Tagalog Filipinos. This was later used by Macario Sakay for his 1902–1906 government that was suppressed by the Americans.[36][37] Historians have stated that Bonifacio's usage of "Katagalugan" was not meant to demean other ethnic groups as the word itself meant "people of the river", from the word "taga-ilog", which constitutes all ethnic groups in the country.[38]
• Kapatiran ("Brotherhood"), or its semi-equivalent Katipunan ("Assembly"/"Gathering").[39]
• Luzviminda. A portmanteau of the first syllables of the country's three major island groups: Luzon; Visayas; and Mindanao. The term has sometimes been interchanged with Luzvimindas, due to the territorial claim of the country on eastern Sabah in Borneo.
• Mahárlika (Sanskrit: mahardhikka (महर्द्धिक), "freeman"[40]). In Pre-Hispanic Philippines, the mahárlika was the common Tagalog term for freedmen, not for the royalty.[40] The maharlika were the largest sector of society, and included warriors, artisans, artists, and others.[41] Unlike the rulers, maharlika did not participate in politics.[42] In 1978, then-president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos supported a House Bill mandating the country's renaming to Mahárlika under military rule.[43] Marcos claimed that Mahárlika was the name of the guerilla force he allegedly led during World War II. This was later proven as a Marcosian hallucination and fabrication, as testified by an Army investigation which "found no foundation" for the late dictator's claims.[44] Eddie Ilarde, who filed the bill, wrongfully[45] stated that Maharlika connoted royalty and wrongfully translated the term as "nobly created".[45] In the book, "Vocabulario de la lengua tagala", the term translates into "alipin na itinuring na malaya" or "a slave that was treated as free".[46] Historians noted that in some accounts, the term means "big phallus" or "large male genitalia".[47][45] The bill did not pass since the term was seen by numerous ethnic groups as "imperial in nature".[39] The proposal was revived by populist president Rodrigo Duterte in February 2019,[48] but the name was dropped a month later.[49] The name change is still supported by the government, although a new name has yet to be determined.[49]
• Rizalia. Named after Filipino patriot José Rizal[50], in a similar fashion to Bolivia being named after Simón Bolivar.[39]

• República Rizalina ("Rizaline Republic"). While exiled in Japan, former revolutionary general Artemio Ricarte proposed the name and had already drafted a constitution for this attempt at a revolutionary government. The term has been pushed by many pro-Rizal Filipinos, however, the term itself is criticized by many as Rizal was not in favor of Philippine independence during the Philippine revolution against Spain as he believed that the Philippines was "not yet ready" to be separated from "mother Spain".[51] However, historians agree through surfaced historical documents that Rizal "believed in the supreme right of revolution" but "did not think it timely in 1896, and considered the people and the country unprepared for it."[52]

The obverse of a 1944 one centavo coin. "Filipinas" is printed on the lower ring.

The 1987 constitution provides that Filipino and English be official languages of the Philippines. The constitution does not contain a provision specifically designating an official name for the country; however, "Republic of the Philippines" is used consistently throughout its provisions (in English). Article XIV, section 8 of the constitution also mandates that the constitution be also promulgated in Filipino but no such official Filipino version exists. "Republika ng Pilipinas" is the de facto name of the country used in Filipino. When standing alone in English, the country's name is always preceded by the article the.[53][54][55] However, the definite article ang does not precede the name in Filipino contexts.

The country has throughout its history been known as Filipinas. In the 1930s, the scholar Lope K. Santos introduced the abakada alphabet for writing Tagalog which no longer used the letter F as this sound was absent and was usually pronounced by speakers of several Philippine languages as "P". The abakada alphabet also subsequently spread to other Philippine languages (which had been using spelling systems based on the Spanish abecedario). Thus, the form Pilipinas propagated and came into general use.[56]

The Commission on the Filipino Language and National Artist, Virgilio S. Almario urges the usage of Filipinas as the country's official name to reflect its origin and history,[57] and to be inclusive to all the languages in the country that already have the new 8 letters of the modern Filipino alphabet (officially used since 1987) which includes the letter F.[58]

Unlike Ireland which uses the name "Éire/Ireland" to identify itself at international meetings, the English name usually appears to identify the Philippines (e.g., when there are meetings in the United Nations or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in this setting. This is also the tradition even if the meeting is held within the Philippines.

In many Philippine languages such as Tagalog, Pilipinas is used; while some other languages, including Ilocano and Chavacano, use Filipinas. Though the name Philippines is the official name that is used by the country's government for international and domestic businesses, numerous major languages of the world still use their own translation or transliteration of the name Philippines to refer to it.

• Catálogo alfabético de apellidos
• Juan de la Cruz
• List of Philippine provincial name etymologies
• List of Philippine city name etymologies
• Philippine name