THE “ILONGGO” FAMILY NAMES

THE “ILONGGO” FAMILY NAMES

(By DinggolAranetaDivinagracia-IlonggoNationMovement)

“To facilitate and expedite civil governmental and also ecclesiastical administrative functions; primarily the collection of taxes and Church service fees, and because native names did not favor the ignorant ears and indolent tongues of the Spanish conquistadors and the Friars --then Governor General Don Narciso Claveria y Zaldua issued an Executive Edict on November 21, 1849 that forced many of our complacent ancestors to change their names and adopted the surname as contained in the “Cedulario de Apellidos”. --dinggol.SD.name~~~

HOW THE ILONGGOS GOT THEIR FAMILY NAMES

IN ancient times, people carried only one or single names. Thus, we read of persons named Abraham, Nebuchadnezzar, Plato, Socrates, Hannibal, Alexander, Tutankhamun and also Cleopatra.

When the Spaniards came to the Philippines in the 16th century, the people in the islands had single names, v.g., Lapu-Lapu, Humabon, Sikatuna, Lakandula, Tupas, Soliman. As the population grew, however, it became necessary for people to be given surnames to avoid confusion and for accurate identification.

A similar thing was done to animals and plants, when scientists applied the binomial nomenclature. An animal or plant was given a scientific name consisting of two terms of which the first identifies its genus and the second the species itself. For example, the scientific name of abaca or lanot is musa textiles; and that of “cat” is felis catus.

In 1849, Governor-General Narciso Claveria issued a decree requiring Filipinos to have family names. The decree was accompanied by a Cedulario de Apellidos or a list of surnames. The provincial governors were given discretion to devise their own system of distributing the surnames to families within their jurisdiction. In Capiz, the governor gave the surnames listed under letter “A,” like Acuña, Andrada, and Arnaldo, to families in the capital town of Capiz (now Roxas City). By the time the distribution got to families in Dumalag, it already had names beginning with “F,” like Fegarido, Fajardo, Felarca and Faeldonia.

In Iloilo, Governor Felipe Combe ordered that the family names of people should start with the same letter as the initial letter of the name of the town where they lived. Thus, Alimodian residents received surnames starting with “A” – Alonsabe, Alipao, Altura, Alobin, etc. While the families in Guimbal were allotted surnames beginning in “G” – Garin, Gargaritano, Gellada, Gemarino, etc.

Tigbauan and Tubungan both begin with “T.” To differentiate the families in the two towns, those from Tubungan were given surnames that commence in “T” followed by a, v.g., Tagamolila, Tanalgo, Tagabe; and those from the bigger town of Tigbauan were allotted names under “T” followed by e, o, u, v.g., Teruel, Tenefrancia, Torres, Torrefranca, Tueres, Tuvida.

There are three towns that start with “S.” San Joaquin was given surnames under “S” followed by a and e, like Sanglap, Santacera, Servidad and Serag. San Miguel received names where “S” is followed by a, like Sale, Sanchez, Saclauso, and Salvilla. Sta. Barbara got “S” followed by e, i, o, and u – Senupe, Serisola, Sirilan, Simpas, Somo, Sorongon, Sumagaysay, Superficial, etc.

Why do surnames in Leon start with “C” and not with “L”? This happened because in 1849, the town was still named Camando. Camando got surnames that commence with “C” followed by a, v.g., Cajilig, Cabana, Cabado, Calaor, Calugas, etc. Calinog received surnames where “C” is succeeded by e, like Centena, Celeste and Celestial. Cabatuan got “C” followed by a, o, and u; for example, Caspe, Cabrera, Confesor and Cuello.

The same is true with Dueñas where surnames begin with “L” – Lagos, Labro, Lamasan, Lagarde, etc. This is so, because Dueñas was still named Laglag at the time the Claveria decree came out.

The capital town of the province was formerly spelled Yloylo, so it had families like Ybiernas, Ybañez, Ypolong, and Yrañela.

Jaro, the largest town in Iloilo, was allotted surnames under “G,” and “H,” and “J.” To mention some: Gonzaga, Gamboa, Hechanova, Hofileña, Jamandre, and Javellana. Pavia and Leganes were still parts of Jaro in 1849. That is why we find there Gorriceta, Gumban, Gustilo, Hisancha, Herradura, Jaen, Jinon, Jagunap, etc.

In 1849, New Lucena and Zarraga were not yet separate municipalities, but were parts of Sta. Barbara. This explains why family names beginning with letter “S” are predominant in these towns until the present.

The Cedulario de Apellidos included dozens of Spanish family names, but the bulk consisted of native words that were adapted as surnames. Some of these native names are interesting. In Sta. Barbara, for example, there are such names as Somogod, Sumulong, Sumogat, Sumalacay, Sumilhig, and Sumulat. In Dumangas, there are Demaisip, Doronila, and Demasuay.

Some Spanish officials who prepared the list of names in the Cedulario were mischievous. Imagine, they included the Bisayan words lugay and timbol. These words have ugly meanings in Iloilo, but the Lugay and Timbol families are prominent in Central Luzon.

On a personal note, I have been puzzled about my family name. At first, I thought it was Portuguese, for there are many Sonzas in Brazil where most surnames are Portuguese. Lately, I learned that the Sonza family name originated in Italy. It is Italian. How it got to Philippines, I have no idea. What I know is that I am from Iloilo, and proud to be Filipino!

(Source: Privilege Speech delivered by Hon. Demy P. Sonza, Board Member 2nd District, Iloilo Province on Dec. 1, 2015) ~~~~~~~oo0oo ~~~~~~~

Addendum:

The father or the oldest member in each family chose a surname for his or her family in the presence of the barangay head together with another barangay official.

However, 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 much common, such as; De la Cruz, de Jesus, Del Rosario, De Los Santos, etc.

Incidentally, Mandurriao and Molo, two separate towns that were later incorporated as part of Iloilo City adopted the surnames that begins with letter “M” --for Mandurriao; Militante, Misa, Miraflores, Mirasol, Mesa, etc.

However, several natives in Molo did not take the Spanish surnames --instead, they adopted native surnames such as; Mabilog, Mabunay, Macairan, Macatiar, Macalalag, Macatual, Magahum, Magbanua, Magalona, Mahinay, Malabor, Malacaman, Maprangala, etc. --dinggol.d~~~