The Top 50 Surnames of Balangiga, Eastern Samar

In his second State of the Nation Address, one of the things that President Duterte passionately asked for was the return of the Balangiga Bells: “That’s why I say today – give us back those Balangiga bells. They belong to the Philippines. They are part of our national heritage. Isauli naman ninyo, masakit iyon sa amin (Return them to us, that is painful for us).” 

The Bells of Balangiga as displayed in F.E. Air force Base, Wyoming

In honor of this remarkable show of nationalism, today's discussion of surnames would focus on the top 50 family names of Balangiga, Eastern Samar. To start with, these are the top 5 most populous last names in Balangiga:

1. ELACION. A Spanish word that means "haughtiness, pride, fatuity, pedantry, pompousness. As of 2016 there were 433 people in town carrying the surname.

2. SALAZAR. Salazar, also spelled Salasar, is a Basque family name that means means "old hall", derived from the Castilian Sala, meaning "hall", and the Basque word zahar, which means "old". As a surname it is a toponym which indicates the bearer as one who originates from the town of the same name: Salazar, in northern Burgos, Castile. There are approximately 234 people carrying the surname.

3. CANILLAS. From the Spanish word canilla which refers to the bones "tibia, ulna, and radius". It is derived from the from the Latin cannella, a diminutive of canna, meaning "cane". Around 232 people in Balangiga carry this family name.

4. ALVARINA. A variant of the last name Alvarez, in turn a Spanish patronymic surname that denotes “son or descendants of Alvaro or Alvarado”.  Alvarado or Alvaro is a personal name of Germanic origin, which is composed of the elements alla which means “everything” and wari which means “protection”. It may also be of Visigothic orign taken from Alver, which comes from elements alla and wer, meaning “whole truth”. There are about 227 in Balangiga carrying this name.

5. DEMILLO. From the Galician word de millo which signifies as "coming from a place with maize or corn". It is derived from the Latin milium which means “to grind or crush”. With around 199 people carrying this as a surname in town.

The full list of Top 50 surnames in Balangiga are:

I support the call of President Duterte: return to us our bells!

Surname Spotlight: CRUZ

Did you know that CRUZ is the most common surname in the Philippines?

The surname CRUZ is derived from the Spanish term cruz, meaning “cross”. It is further taken from the Latin crux. The popularity of CRUZ as a surname dates back to the Spanish period when native Filipinos (indios) imitated the Spaniards and started using “last names”. Cruz, de la Cruz, and its variants became popular and many families disregarded the Claveria decree that banned the use of such religious names.

All in all, there are CRUZ, DE LA CRUZ, DELA CRUZ, CRUZAT, CRUZADO, CRUZADA, GOJO CRUZ, VILLACRUZ, CRUZANA, ACRUZ, CRUZA, STA. CRUZ, ACOYCRUZ, CUARTO CRUZ, VILLACRUZADA, and TAGIMACRUZ, with DE LA CRUZ having the most number at 656,446 people carrying it as a surname.

The surname is found in almost all towns and cities in the country, 1,105 of 1,634 in fact, with the highest concentration in Regions IV-A and IV-B.

Finding a Bato in the Mato: Edgar Matobato's Surname Definition

With Senator De Lima once again making headlines for walking out of the senate for the second time around, my mind turned to the last name of the man whose presence in the senate hearing on the alleged extra-judicial killings has started all these in-fighting among the senators. I am talking about Edgar Matobato, whose last name from the very start sounded very unique to my genealogist ears.

After weeks of searching online I discovered another genealogical gem: the last name MATOBATO clearly fits its bearer - at least in Edgardo's case.

The family name is obviously a composite of two words - MATO + BATO. Going the obvious route, which is Filipino, the surname Matobato is derived from the two old Cebuano words mato, derived further from the proto-Austronesian term which means 'water', and from bato, obviously a Cebuano word which in turn has been derived from proto-Austronesian and means 'stone' or 'rock' or 'hard'.

But we can also go the Spanish route. The word MATO is a Spanish word derived from the Portuguese word mato, which means 'forest', 'jungle', or 'woods'; however, it may also may have been derived from the Portuguese verb matar, in turn derived from the Latin mactare, meaning 'to kill'. The second word bato, meanwhile, is another Portuguese verb, this time derived from the word bater, from the Latin battuere, which means 'to beat up'.

As a genealogist I have always believed that names have always held significant meanings, especially surnames. Even for a race of people like the Filipinos whose surnames are mostly derived from a list of names forced upon them, last names in the Philippines still mean a lot when you dig deeper into its history. 

And what is more fitting, more intriguing surname for a confessed killer like Edgar Matobato than to have a last name that means to kill, to beat up, hard, stone, and woods or jungle. I can already start imagining him beating up his victims, then killing them with rocks or stones, then burying the bodies in the deep forests.

By the way, the last name Matobato does not appear to be very populous. It is the 16th most populous last name in the town of Alangalang, Leyte but appears to be ranked as the 38,130th most common last name in the country and only about 0.000750%, or less than 1% of the population carry the last name.

Edgar Matobato (from newsinfo.inquirer.net)

Presidential Surnames & their Meaning

AGUINALDO. The surname Aguinaldo is a common Filipino and Mexican family name that is a comparatively recent formation from the personal name Aguinaldo. The term “aguinaldo” is a Spanish reference to a Christmas or sometimes a New Year gift.

In some parts of the South Americas, the word is also associated with a gift and with an own musical sort of Christmas.

AQUINO. Aquino is a Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian surname that is from a personal name bestowed in honor of the great theologian St. Thomas Aquinas, which in the original Italian is Tommaso d’Aquino. As a surname, it is mostly a habitational name, designating the carrier as “one coming from a place called Aquino”.

ARROYO. A Spanish habitational last name from any of numerous places named with arroyo, which is translated as “watercourse”, or “irrigation channel”. The word arroyo is a word of pre-Roman origin. Other definitions for Arroyo include “an intermittent river, river which is full only after rain, chasm, cleft, clough, clove, gap, gorge, gulch”.

EJERCITO. Ejercito is, as a general rule, not a very common Hispanic last name. It is not even fairly common in the Philippines. Ejercito is, in its widest sense, the name given to the institution in charge with the defense and the military attack of the state. Ejercito is Spanish for “army”.

GARCIA. GARCIA is a Spanish and Portuguese patronymic, normally found in medieval records in the Latin form Garsea, and may well be of pre-Roman origin, perhaps akin to the Basque (h)artz, which means “bear”. It may also have been derived from Hortza, Artza, or Hartze. In the Germanic language, Garcia could be translated as “a prince with a wonderful view”. Its variations include Gassía, Gacía, Gacías, Garsés, Gaciot, Gació, Gassías, and Gasía.

LAUREL. Laurel is a topographic name for someone who lived by a laurel tree, derived from the Spanish laurel (in Latin laurus), or a habitational name from Laurel in the Canary Islands. The laurel tree is a Mediterranean evergreen tree (Laurus nobilis) having aromatic, simple leaves and small blackish berries. Also called bay, bay laurel, and sweet bay. A wreath of laurel was conferred as a mark of honor in ancient times upon poets, heroes, and victors in athletic contests.

MACAPAGAL. The Macapagal surname is an indigenous Filipino surname derived from the Kapangpangan word makapagal, which means “tiring”. It may also be a descriptive last name, which may describe the ancestors of the Macapagals as someone who "exhausted the enemy".

MAGSAYSAY. Magsaysay is an indigenous Filipino last name that is taken from the Tagalog word magsaysay, which means to “tell” or “narrate”.

MARCOS. The surname Marcos is a Spanish and Portuguese patronymic, meaning “son of or descendant of Marcos”. Marcus was an old Roman name, of uncertain (possibly non-Italic) etymology; it may have some connection with the name of the war god Mars. It means “borderland” or a “fenced-off land”.

OSMEÑA. The Osmeña surname existed in the city of Cebu as early as the early the late 1700’s, and some have theorized that it is most probably, but not definitely, of Muslim origin, most probably derived from either OSMAN or USMAN, the Turkish, Indian, or Persian form of the Arabic Uthmān. UTHMAN means "baby bustard" in Arabic. A bustard is a bird similar to a crane.

QUEZON. Quezon is of unclear origin, but perhaps may be a variation of the indigenous Chinese Filipino surname Quizon (Quison), which comes from the Chinese names Cui and Son. Thus, the surname here is Cui, which is associated with “men of famous Prime Ministers”.

QUIRINO. The patronymic family name is derived from the Spanish personal name Quirino (in turn from Latin Quirinus). In Roman mythology, the name Quirinus was possibly derived from the Sabine word quiris, meaning "spear". Quirinus was a Sabine and Roman god who was later identified with the war god Mars.

RAMOS. The surname Ramos is a Portuguese and Spanish habitational name from any of the towns called Ramos, situated in Portugal and Spain. It is derived from the Spanish word ramos, the plural of ramo, meaning “branch”, in turn from the Latin ramus. As a surname it is descriptive of someone who lived in a thickly wooded area.

ROXAS. Roxas is a variant of the Spanish surname Rojas, which is a newer variation of Roxas. It is a habitational name from places in Burgos or Lugo (Galicia) named Rojas, derived from the Spanish word rojo, which means “red”.

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Related post:

Surname Spotlight: Presidential Family Names

Where to Start: Family Names

As a rule of thumb, most experts on family history would advise anyone interested in genealogy to always begin with what one already has: his first and last names. In many instances, people will already get a colorful history of his family just by working on his given and last names. Often, the first or middle names are derived from a relative or direct ancestor. For instance, in my maternal grandmother’s family, it was always the practice to name the first child born after a death of an elder after the deceased. This practice has roots to antiquities; families tend to give a newborn child the name of a recently deceased ancestor to “keep the memories of the dead loved one” alive.

Surnames also have a lot of stories to tell. In fact, most family history write-ups almost always begin with surname histories. A study of one’s surname gives one an idea where the surname started, what the surname’s original form may have been, where the surname is now located, and what possible derivations come from the name.

Surnames developed in an almost predictive way: the first name is usually appellated with a description of the place, origin, or characteristic of the first bearer. Examples: a man named Jose who lived near a coastline would be known as Jose de Acosta, or Jose from the coast. Most often than not, this would soon be simplified to Jose Acosta; John, the son of Peter, would soon be known as John Peterson, and so on.

Most modern-day surnames are any of the following: patronymics, that is, names that designate the bearer as “a son of” or “a descendant of” the first bearer of the surname. In Russia, patronymics usually end with the suffix –ov: Romanov, “son or descendant of Roman”, Semyonov, “son or descendant of Semyon or Simon”, and Alexandrovitch, “son of descendant of Alexander”. In Spain and other Spanish-speaking areas, patronymics usually end with –ez, such as Alvarez, “son or descendant of Alvaro”, Rodriguez, “son or descendant of Rodrigo”, and Martinez, “son or descendant of Martin”. Some patronymics do not end in –ez, such as Manuel and Agustin. Other patronymics include English names like Williams and Johns; European names that end with –son or –sen such as Jansen or Peterson; and Islamic designations such as “bin” or “ibn”, like Abdullah bin Saud, which means “Abdullah, son of Saud”.

Another popular surname type are habitational or locational or place-names. These surnames are derived from any of the following: the original hometown of the first bearer of the surname, like Martin de Aragon, indicating “Martin, from the Spanish province of Aragon”; the common landmark found in the area from which the first bearer comes from, such as Angela Wood, which might indicate that “Angela lived near or in the woods”; the common flora in the area, such as Espina, which would indicate an abundance of thorny bushes or plants in the place where the original bearer of the name comes from; or the common fauna in the area, like Gallos, indicative of the presence of many roosters in the area.

Occupational surnames are also common types of surnames, which would describe the trade or profession of the first carrier of the name. Such names generally developed in the same way as place-names started. Examples are Gunther Schmidt, which would mean that Gunther was originally a smith. Spanish surnames like Pescadero (“fisherman”), Labrador (“farmer”), and Herrero (“blacksmith”), are common Spanish occupational surnames.

The fourth surname category is descriptive or characteristic of the original bearer, such as Rufus or Red, which would mean the first bearer probably had bright, red hair. Others would include, other than colors, body structure, such as Slim; social status like King or Regis, which may indicate noble or royal birth or simply wealth, and so much more.

Other surnames have dual or even more origins. The surname Lucero, for example, which means brilliance or bright star, may indicate the first bearer as having red, flaming hair. It may also be occupational, as the early lamp-lighters were given the title “El Lucero”. Other surnames may also simply be common words used in day-to-day language which have evolved through time. Many surnames in the Philippines, for example, are Spanish words or adjectives.

(C) TODD LUCERO SALES, 2012.

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Taken from KAGIKAN: Primer on Filipino Genealogy written by this author.