Filipino last names with origins and meanings
See where a Filipino surname comes from, or find one for a character.
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Filipino last names by origin
- Santos
- Reyes
- Delos Reyes
- Cruz
- Dela Cruz
- Gonzales
- Fernandez
- Lopez
- Perez
- Rodriguez
- Mendoza
- Aquino
- Navarro
- Aragon
- Valencia
- Tan
- Lim
- Sy
- Co
- Uy
5 of 183 of 18 · Show all ·
Filipino last names by origin
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From Spanish words18
- saints
- king
- king
- cross
- cross
- flower
- new town
- castle
- tower
- river
- fountain
- field
- mountain
- rock
- knight
- shepherd
- city
- eagle
From a given name16
- Gonzalo
- Fernando
- Lope
- Pedro
- Rodrigo
- Hernando
- Martín
- Sancho
- Ramiro
- Gome
- Diego
- Álvaro
- Domingo
- Jimeno
- Velasco
- Gutierre
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From a region or town8
- Mendoza (Álava)
- Aquino (Italy)
- Navarra
- Aragón
- Valencia
- Toledo
- Zamora
- Soria
From Chinese (Hokkien) surnames16
- 陳 (Chen)
- 林 (Lin)
- 施 (Shi)
- 許 (Xu)
- 黃 (Huang)
- 王 (Wang)
- 蔡 (Cai)
- 吳 (Wu)
- 葉 (Ye)
- 張 (Zhang)
- 洪 (Hong)
- 謝 (Xie)
- 鄭 (Zheng)
- 李 (Li)
- 顏 (Yan)
- 劉 (Liu)
About Filipino last names
In 1849 Governor-General Narciso Clavería ordered families across the Philippines to take surnames from the Catálogo alfabético de apellidos, which is why so many Filipino names are Spanish. Chinese Filipino families kept their Hokkien surnames, spelled as they sound.
Frequently asked questions
A decree of 1849 gave families surnames from a Spanish catalogue, so that the colonial government could keep census and tax records.
Santos, Reyes, Cruz and Dela Cruz are among the most common. They come from Spanish words for saints, kings and the cross.
They're Chinese surnames in their Hokkien pronunciation, the language of most Chinese Filipino families: Tan is 陳 (Chen), Lim is 林 (Lin).
Yes. A Filipino middle name is usually the mother's maiden surname, placed between the given name and the father's surname.
50+ surnames in 4 groups. If none fit, describe the name you want in the search and get 20 new ideas.
Yes. Every name here is free to use, for a character, a story or a game.