Name of the Philippines

The nation's Coat of Arms showing its official name in Filipino, one of its official languages.

The name of the Philippines (Filipino/Tagalog: Pilipinas [pɪlɪˈpinɐs], Spanish: Filipinas) is a truncated form of The Philippine Islands, derived from the King Philip II of Spain in the 16th century. During the expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos to the Islands, Spanish sailor Bernardo de la Torre used the name Las Islas Filipinas in honour of the then-Prince of Asturias, originally referring to the islands of Leyte and Samar.^[1][2] Despite the presence of other names, the name Filipinas (Philippines) was eventually adopted as the name of the entire archipelago.

The official name of the Philippines, however, has changed throughout the course of its history. During the Philippine Revolution, the state officially called itself República Filipina, now referred to as the First Philippine Republic. From the period of the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War until the Commonwealth, United States colonial authorities referred to the Philippines as the Philippine Islands, a direct translation of the original Spanish. It was during the American Period that the name "Philippines" began to appear, a name that was officially adopted.^[3]

Historical names

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).

• Ma-i. According to the Zhao Rugua's (趙汝适) book Zhu fan zhi written around 1225 AD 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, which means "country of the Blacks" 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 the Chinese settlements and in constant contact with the China Government as early as the 9th century CE and earlier.^[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]

• Lei was the name given by the Chinese to the present-day island of Luzon, originated from the Tagalog word lusong, a wooden mortar that is used to pound rice. When the Spanish produced maps of the Philippines during 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 the island of Samar (now present-day 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 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 Filipinas (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 the 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]

Mi último adiós, original Spanish (1896, first stanza)[20]	English translation[22]
Adios, Patria adorada, region del sol querida, Perla del Mar de Oriente, nuestro perdido Eden! A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida, Y fuera más brillante más fresca, más florida, Tambien por tí la diera, la diera por tu bien.	Farewell, my adored Land, region of the sun caressed, Pearl of the Orient Sea, our Eden lost, With gladness I give you my Life, sad and repressed; And were it more brilliant, more fresh and at its best, I would still give it to you for your welfare at most.

"Lupang Hinirang", official Filipino lyrics (1958, rev. 1960s, first stanza)[21]	Original Spanish lyrics[23]
Bayang magiliw, Perlas ng Silanganan Alab ng puso, Sa Dibdib mo'y buhay.	Tierra adorada, hija del sol de Oriente, su fuego ardiente en ti latiendo está.

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

Proposed names

• 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). This was later used by Macario Sakay for his 1902–1906 government that was suppressed by the Americans.^[25][26]
• Kapatiran ("Brotherhood"), or its semi-equivalent Katipunan ("Assembly"/"Gathering").^[27]
• Luzviminda. A portmanteau of the first syllables of the country's three major island groups: Luzon; Visayas; and Mindanao. Appears more nowadays as a dated female given name.
• Mahárlika (Sanskrit: mahardhikka, "nobility"). In Pre-Hispanic Philippines, the mahárlika was the "noble warrior" class whose members were essentially the same as common freedmen, distinguished by their duty to serve the ruler in battle. In 1978, then-President Ferdinand Marcos supported a House Bill mandating the country's renaming to Mahárlika.^[27]
• Rizalia. Named after national hero José Rizal, in a similar fashion to Bolivia being named after Simón Bolivar.^[27]

• 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.^[28]

Disputed names

• Maniolas. According to Fr. Francisco Colin in 1663, a Jesuit friar and an early historian of the Philippines, Maniolas was the name used by Claudius Ptolemy to refer to the group of islands south of China (i.e. Luzon).^[24][29] Colin quoted Ptolemy's writings speaking about the Maniolas islands, which is probably Manila. This theory was further supported by José Rizal and Pedro A. Paterno. Rizal also said that the country was recorded to Ptolemy's maps when a sailor named Hippalus told him the existence of "beautiful islands" in southeastern Far East.^[12][30] However, Trinidad Pardo de Tavera rejected this notion on his 1910 book, Notas para una cartografia de Filipinas (Notes for the Philippine Cartography).^[31]
• Baroussai. Along with Maniolas is the Baroussai which was also quoted from Ptolemy. Barrousai is believed to be the Visayas with Mindanao, thus, composing majority of the now Philippine archipelago.^[32][33]
• Ophir (Hebrew: אוֹפִיר) is a region of islands mentioned in the Bible, most famous for its wealth. Accounts mention that King Solomon received the riches of the region every three years. At the emergence of the hydrography of Spanish colonies in Asia in the early 17th century, Dominican Gregorio García wrote that Ophir was indeed located in the Moluccas and the Philippines.^[34] In 1609, Juan de Pineda wrote a diverse collection of literature relating Biblical accounts of Solomon, Ophir and the islands.^[34] Former Prime Minister Pedro A. Paterno said in one of his works on conjectural anthropology that Ophir is the Philippines because the scented wood Solomon received from Ophir also exists in the Islands.^[35] This notion was however, later dismissed by modern historians as merely alluding and comparing the Philippines' position to the Spanish economy with that of Ophir to Solomon's kingdom—the sudden discovery and colonisation of the Islands bringing wealth and prosperity to the realm.^[36]
• Tawalisi, was an ancient kingdom in Southeast Asia reached by explorer Ibn Battuta. He reached the kingdom when he left Sumatra and headed towards China. According to the historical accounts of the explorer, he met Urduja, a legendary warrior princess from Pangasinan. However, according to William Henry Scott, Tawilisi and its warrior-princess Urduja are fabulous, fairy-tale, fiction.^[37]

Provincial name

In other languages

Given that it has two official languages, the country also possesses two official names as stated in the 1987 Constitution. In Filipino, it is officially called Republika ng Pilipinas, while it is named the Republic of the Philippines in English. When standing alone in English, the country's name is always preceded by the article "the". However, the definite article "ang" does not precede the name in Filipino contexts. The Commission on the Filipino Language and National Artist, Virgilio S. Almario urges the use of Filipinas as the country's official name to reflect its origin and history.^[38]

Unlike Ireland which uses the name "Eire/Ireland" to identify itself in international meeting, 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 country's boundary.

In many Philippine languages such as Tagalog, "Pilipinas" is used, while some other languages, including Ilocano, 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.

Language	Name (Pilipinas)	Transliteration	Official Name (Republika ng Pilipinas)	Transliteration
Afrikaans	Filippyne		Republiek van die Filippyne
Albanian	Filipinet		Republika e Filipineve
Arabic	الفلبين	Āl-filibiyīn	جمهورية الفلبين	Jāmhwayr āl-filibiyīn
Armenian	Ֆիլիպիններ	Filipinner	Ֆիլիպիններում Հանրապետություն	Filippinerum Hanrapetut’yun
Azerbaijani	Filippin		Filippin Respublikası
Basque	Filipinetan		Filipinetako Errepublikako
Belarusian	Філіпіны	Filipiny	Рэспубліка Філіпіны	Respublika Filipiny
Bengali	ফিলিপাইন	Filipain	ফিলিপাইন প্রজাতন্ত্র	Filipain Projatôntro
Bulgarian	Филипини	Filipini	Република Филипини	Republika Filipini
Catalan	Filipines		República de Filipines
Chinese	菲律賓 (Tr.) 菲律宾 (Sp.)	Fēilǜbīn	菲律賓共和國 (Tr.) 菲律宾共和国 (Sp.)	Fēilǜbīn Gònghéguó
Croatian	Filipini		Republika Filipini
Czech	Filipíny		Filipínská Republika
Danish	Filippinerne		Republikken Filippinerne
Dutch	Filipijnen		Republiek der Filipijnen
English	Philippines		Republic of the Philippines
Estonian	Filipiinid		Filipiini Vabariik
Finnish	Filippiinit		Filippiinien Tasavalta
French	Philippines		République des Philippines
Georgian	ფილიპინები	P’ilipinebi	ფილიპინების რესპუბლიკის	P’ilipinebis respublikis
German	Philippinen		Republik der Philippinen
Greek	Φιλιππίνες	Filippínes	Δημοκρατία των Φιλιππίνων	Di̱mokratía to̱n Filippíno̱n
Haryanvi	फ़िलिपीण	Filippínn	फ़िलिपीण गणराज्य	Filippínn Gannrājya
Hebrew	פיליפינים	Filipinim	הרפובליקה של הפיליפינים	Ha'republika Filipinim
Hindi	फ़िलीपीन्स	Filipīns	फ़िलीपींस गणराज्य	Filīpīns Gaṇarājya
Hokkien	菲律賓 呂宋	Huili̍ppin Lūsòng	菲律賓共和國	Huili̍ppin kiōnghôkok
Hungarian	Fülöp-szigetek		Fülöp-szigeteki Köztársaság
Icelandic	Filippseyjar		Lýðveldið Filippseyjar
Indonesian	Filipina		Republik Filipina
Irish	Na hOileáin Fhilipíneacha		Phoblacht na hOileáin Fhilipíneacha
Italian	Filippine		Repubblica delle Filippine
Japanese	フィリピン	Firipin	フィリピン共和国	Firipin kyōwakoku
Khmer	ប្រទេសហ្វីលីពីន	Filippin	សាធារណរដ្ឋហ្វីលីពីន	Sathéaranakrâth Filippin
Korean	필리핀	Pillipin	필리핀 공화국	Pillipin Gonghwaguk
Latin	Philippinae		Respublica Philippinarum
Latvian	Filipīnas		Filipīnu Republika
Lithuanian	Filipinai		Filipinų Respublika
Macedonian	Филипини	Filipini	Република Филипини	Republika Filipini
Malay	Filipina		Republik Filipina
Maltese	Filippini		Repubblika tal-Filippini
Marathi	फिलिपिन्स	Filipins	फिलिपिन्सचे प्रजासत्ताक	Filipinsce prajāsattāk
Norwegian	Filippinene		Republikken Filippinene
Polish	Filipiny		Republika Filipin
Portuguese	Filipinas		República das Filipinas
Romanian	Filipine		Republica Filipine
Russian	Филиппины	Filipiny	Республика Филиппины	Respublika Filipiny
Serbian	Филипини	Filipini	Република Филипини	Republika Filipini
Sinhala	පිලිපීනය	Pilipinaya	පිලිපීනය ජනරජය	Pilipinaya Janarajaya
Slovak	Filipíny		Filipínská Republika
Slovene	Filipini		Republika Filipini
Spanish	Filipinas		República de Filipinas
Swedish	Filippinerna		Republiken Filippinerna
Tamil	பிலிப்பைன்ஸ்	Pilippaiṉs	பிலிப்பைன்ஸ் குடியரசு	Pilippaiṉs kuṭiyaracu
Thai	ฟิลิปปินส์	Filippin	สาธารณรัฐฟิลิปปินส์	Sāthāranarat Filippin
Turkish	Filipinler		Filipinler Cumhuriyeti
Ukrainian	Філіпіни	Filippiny	Республіка Філіппіни	Respublika Filippiny
Vietnamese	Phi Luật Tân		Cộng hoà Phi Luật Tân
Welsh	Philipinau		Gweriniaeth Ynysoedd y Philipinau

See also

• Catálogo alfabético de apellidos
• Filipino
• Juan de la Cruz
• Philippine name
• Epistle to the Philippians – Greece

References

1. Scott 1994, p. 6
2. "Online Etymology Dictionary". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
3. World Factbook — Philippines. CIA. ISBN 978-1-4220-0227-8. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
4. The Islands to the West: How are Philippine towns named? at the Wayback Machine (archived March 18, 2008)
5. Hirth 1911, p. 160, Footnote 1
6. "National identity". Retrieved 2009-07-27.
7. Scott 1984, p. 150
8. Hirth 1911, p. 162, Footnote 1
9. Hirth 1911, p. 160, Footnote 3
10. Keat 2004, p. 798
11. "Navegación: Exploraciones: Filipinas" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2009-07-27.
12. "Names of the Philippines at different times in history". Retrieved 2009-08-26.
13. "History of the Philippines". Retrieved 2009-07-27.
14. Halili 2008, p. 22
15. Duka 2004, p. 55
16. Cooley 1830, p. 244
17. Spate 1979, p. 98
18. "East Visayan History". Northern Illinois University. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
19. Tope 2002, p. 7
20. "Mi Ultimo Adiós by Dr José Rizal". Retrieved 17 November 2010.
21. "Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines". The LawPhil Project. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
22. "The Last Poem of Rizal". Jose Rizal University. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
23. Palma, José (1912). Melancólicas : coleccion de poesías. Manila, Philippines: Liberería Manila Filatélica. (Digital copy found online at HathiTrust Digital Library on 2010-03-31)
24. "Origin of the Name "Philippines"". Retrieved 2009-08-26.
25. Guerrero, Encarnacion & Villegas 1996, pp. 3–12
26. Guerrero & Schumacher 1998, p. 95
27. "Maharlika: AsianWeek". 2008-09-02. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
28. Rodis, Rodel (2 September 2008). "‘Maharlika’ Reconsidered". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
29. Carunungan, Celso Al (December 23, 1987). "What's in a Name?". Manila Standard Today. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
30. de Morga 2004, p. 298
31. Mojares 2006, pp. 174–175
32. Rizal: "Ptolemy also mentions... five Baroussai (Mindanao, Leite, Sebu, etc.)." See: https://archive.org/stream/historyofthephil07001gut/7phip10.txt
33. http://makmak-domingo.blogspot.com/2011/02/name-of-philippines.html
34. Sheehan 2008, p. 398
35. Mojares 2006, p. 85
36. Truxillo 2001, p. 82
37. William Henry Scott, Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History, ISBN 971-10-0226-4, p.83
38. Bye Pilipinas, hello Filipinas?

Printed sources

• Cooley, William Desborough (1830), The History of Maritime and Inland Discovery 2, Longman
• de Morga, Antonio (2004), History of the Philippine Islands Vols 1 and 2, Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 978-1-4191-2427-3 ISBN 978-1-4191-2427-3. Originally published by Antonio de Morga as Sucesos de las islas Filipinas in 1609, reprinted by Kessinger Publishing in 2004.
• Duka, C. (2004), Philippine History, Rex Bookstore, ISBN 978-971-23-3934-9 ISBN 978-971-23-3934-9
• Guerrero, Milagros; Encarnacion, Emmanuel; Villegas, Ramon (1996), "Andres Bonifacio and the 1896 Revolution", Sulyap Kultura (National Commission for Culture and the Arts) 1 (2)
• Guerrero, Milagros; Schumacher, John (1998), Reform and Revolution, Kasaysayan: The History of the Filipino People 5, Asia Publishing Company Limited, ISBN 978-962-258-228-6
• Halili, M. C. (2008), Struggle for Freedom, Rex Bookstore, ISBN 978-971-23-5045-0 ISBN 978-971-23-5045-0
• Hirth, Friedrich; W. W. Rockhill (1911), Chau Ju-Kua: His Work on the Chinese and Arab Trade in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries entitled Chu-fan-chi, Imperial Academy of Sciences Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
• Keat, Gin Ooi (2004), Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 978-1-57607-770-2 ISBN 978-1-57607-770-2
• Mojares, Resil B. (2006), Brains of the Nation: Pedro Paterno, T.H. Pardo de Tavera, Isabelo de los Reyes, and the Production of Modern Knowledge, Ateneo de Manila University Press
• Scott, William Henry (1994), Barangay: Sixteenth-century Philippine Culture and Society, p. 6, ISBN 978-971-550-135-4 ISBN 978-971-550-135-4, ISBN 978-971-550-135-4
• Scott, William Henry (1984), Prehispanic Source Materials For The Study of Philippine History (Revised ed.), ISBN 971-10-0227-2
• Sheehan, Kevin Joseph (2008), Iberian Asia: The strategies of Spanish and Portuguese empire building, 1540--1700, ProQuest, ISBN 978-1-109-09710-8 ISBN 978-1-109-09710-8
• Spate, O. H. Khristian (1979), The Spanish Lake, Taylor & Francis
• Tope, Lily Rose R.; Detch P. Nonan-Mercado (2002). Philippines. Marshall Cavendish Reference Books. ISBN 978-0-7614-1475-9. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
• Truxillo, Charles (2001), By the Sword and the Cross: The Historical Evolution of the Catholic World Monarchy in Spain and the New World, 1492–1825, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 978-0-313-31676-0 ISBN 978-0-313-31676-0