Maternal Middle Names and Paternal Family Surnames
Christians (as well as certain Muslims, Chinese Filipinos, and others) in the Philippines formerly followed naming patterns practiced throughout the Spanish-speaking world (the practice of having the father's surname followed by the mother's surname, the two being connected by the particle "y", which means "and", such as Juan Agbayani y López). If the second surname starts with i, y, hi or hy, the particle becomes e, following Spanish rules of euphony, as in Eduardo Dato e Iradier.
However, this practice changed when the Philippines became a United States colony in the early half of the 20th century. The order was reversed to follow the conventional American form "Christian name-Middle name-Surname," which in this case is actually "Christian name-Mother's surname-Father's surname" (Juan López Agbayani or simply Juan L. Agbayani). The conjunction y was dropped, although it is still used in certain contexts today (most notably in criminal records).
Currently, the middle name is usually, though not always, the mother's maiden name (followed by the last name which is 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. The blending of American and Spanish naming customs results in the way Filipinos write their names today.
Furthermore, application forms for various Philippine government documents define the first name as the "Christian name(s)," the middle name as the "mother's maiden surname" (this becomes the basis for the middle initial), and the surname as the "father's surname."
Bearing the mother's maiden surname as a the middle name or middle initial is more important to a majority of Filipinos than to use one of the given names as a middle name or middle initial. Filipino culture usually allocates equal value to the lineage from both mother and father except in some prominent families who practice a strictly patriarchal system (usually of Spanish or Chinese heritage).
Exceptions apply in the case of children with single parents. Children born out of wedlock are registered under the mother's maiden name (if still unmarried), applying her middle name (maternal surname) and current surname (paternal surname) for the child's middle name and last name, respectively. The unmarried father must resort to legal and administrative procedures if he desires to acknowledge the child as his own and for the child to be registered with his own surname (in which case the child will use the mother's surname as his/her middle name).
Read more about this topic: Philippine Name
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