That Silly Filipino Name

Do you ever wonder where and how Filipino’s come up with those funky and often funny names and nick names? I mean how many of us have an uncle Boy or Auntie Baby. How many of us have friends or cousins named Bok Bok, Jing Jing, or Biboy. How many of us have friends named Cherry, Apple, or Strawberry? I always found it very amusing on the various choices of names Filipinos choose for their children. These nicknames also seem to stick with us forever. Case in point ex Philippine president Joseph Estrada went by Erap. In the more recent Philippine agriculture scandal Joc Joc Bolante was the culprit. I have an uncle who was known as Boy Sige growing up. He became a catholic priest and yes, he goes by Fr. Boy. Finally, boxing champion Manny Pacquiao’s wife Jinky recently gave birth to their daughter and named her Queen Elizabeth, HA!

Unlike here in the U.S. when we are young we try to loose our pinoy nicknames to fit in school. However, for some reason those nicknames find their way back and next thing you know all your non Filipino friends are also calling you Bak Bak or Den Den. So where do these names come from? In a 2006 article by Mathew Sutherland titled “A Rhose, By another name” he talks about the 7 categories of Filipino names.

1. The perennial 5 year old – Honey, Babes, Boy
2. Door bell names – Ding dong, Bing bong, Ting ting
3. Repeating names – Chin Chin, Ning Ning
4. Themed names of the same letter – Janice, Joyce, Johnny for siblings or nicknamed with the same letter, bebot, betbet, biboy. Or even a family of desserts, fruits, or flowers. Strawberry, Apple, Tulip, Rose, Magnolia etc..
5. Composite names – Luzviminda (Luzon Visaya Mindanao) or Jejomar (Jesus, Joseph, and Mary)
6. Random H – hjimmy, hjun
7. Creative names – Magic Chiongson and Chica Go

There are also the nicknames that come from Spanish roots. For example the most common nickname for a girl is Menchie or Menchu. This usually comes from Maria Carmen. Just like other Spanish cultures they add a lito to the end of the name. Lito for little, for example Pablo or Pablito or Miguel or Miguelito. Filipinos use the same concept but instead of Lito they may use Cito. Therefore you may have an uncle named Chito, Cachito, Ponchito etc. I was also told a common nickname for Jose is Peping. I have a Tito Peping and sure enough his name is Jose. There are also many variations of nicknames that come from Spanish proper names, Lucina becomes Nina or Socorro becomes Corito. Than there are the names like Butchok, Popot, or Boobie that have nothing to do with anything other than their parents finding it a cute and loving way of calling them. Especially as a toddler it’s easier to say come here Ming Ming versus come here Guillermina Asuncion. These are the names that seem to stick forever. Filipinos are some of the most creative people in the world. The creativity obviously was added to naming their children. These names separate us from the common name you’ll find in America. I also look at it as a way of holding on to our heritage. I don’t have any kids but if I did, I’m pretty sure I would think up of something for him or her. So next time you meet somebody named Bong Bong don’t laugh at him because there’s more to it than just a silly sounding name.