Narciso Claveria’s 1849 Decree and the Surnames of the People of Lipa

In the early days of the Spanish colonial era in the Philippines, as the indios or native Filipinos converted to Christianity, many such natives also started taking on Spanish names: of Catholic saints, symbols, sacraments and feasts and even the names of Popes. There was, as yet, no definitive system for administrative purposes so that it was not uncommon for native Filipinos to take two or three names and change these whenever it took their fancy.

Neither were uniform surnames for members of the same family required, so that siblings would often have different surnames. In practical terms, this was a nightmare for the church and the bureaucracy. Inheritances were difficult to prove and it was difficult to ascertain if couples asking to be wed were close relations or not¹.

The Spaniards being what they were, it was not until the 19^th century that something was actually done about what was an obvious administrative problem. In 1849, the Spanish Governor-General Narciso Claveria, an officer in the Spanish army, issued a decree requiring native Filipinos to all have surnames. A catalogue of Spanish and local surnames were sent out to towns all over the country; and from these those who did not have surnames were either issued these or obligated to choose from the catalogue².

Women of the Red Cross Society of Lipa, early 1900s.  Image source:  “The Story of the Lopez Family: A Page from the History of the War in the Philippines.”

This was part of a process of creating a national civil registry. Because the decree was intended to address administrative problems, “rules were established so that Filipino families would all have consistent surnames³.” Although the bulk of the surnames provided by the catalogue were Spanish, there were also others taken from local languages such as Tagalog, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Kapangpangan and Pangasinense. There were also Hispanized Chinese names⁴.

Under the system implemented, a surname could only be claimed by one family per municipality. In some cases, many families of the same town all took surnames beginning with the same letters. For instance, in Nasugbu, many family names began with the letter “V.”

There were also exemptions: families with existing surnames already in the catalogue or those not in the prohibited list of surnames – for being too common or for being associated with an ethnic background. Some families with surnames in the prohibited list could keep their surnames insofar as they could prove that they had used the surname for at least four consecutive generations⁵.

To see a practical application of Claveria’s decree, let us examine the case of some families of the then-town of Lipa in Batangas who were obligated to adopt new surnames – as well as a few who were allowed to keep theirs, for reasons already explained. The sampling below was compiled by Lipa and Batangas historian Renz Marion D. Katigbak, with the first column being the old surname and the second being the new surnames. His source for these samples was the Registros Parroquiales of Lipa, 1850-1855.

INDIOS (Filipinos of Malay ethnicity)

PREVIOUS NAME	NEW CATALOGUE NAME
Adriano	Robico/Rubico
Alejandro	Lata, Luceño, Rocafort, Tisico, Poliquit
Alfonso	Lanto
Alipio	Llaga
Ambrocio	Lipat
Andres	Letrero, Piris
Antonio	Lipit, Maño, Perejil, Talao
Bartolome	Lescano
Benito	Laco
Bernardo	Lara, Lasig, Loisaga, Mojares, Padurra, Virrey
Carpio	Lalucis, Olais
Cornelio	Leyco, Perjes
Crisostomo	Balinis
Cristobal	Pescal
De la Cruz	Albis, Balual, Basilla, Cadelmo, Cirujano, Hoseña, Laciano, Lalapos, Lalusin, Laigo (Laygo), Latoc, Logtu, Lubrica, Lucido, Labiste, Libalig, Libon, Librea, Libut, Lingao, Lolab, Loma, Lubid, Lucillo, Mabitag, Magabo, Magaling, Magsusi, Maguinoo, Malleta, Mestas, Mojado, Morcilla, Morden, Mosca, Nagboo, Nario, Nodera, Obcial/Obtial, Olan, Olap, Onira, Padro, Paran, Payag, Pedraja, Peremne, Perile, Perilla, Posag, Prado, Quiza, Recon, Refran, Resaba, Resma, Riglos, Robledo, Rocamora, Roceta (Rosita), Rodelas, Royeca, Sabido, Saldua, Saludo, Serojo, Serra,, Solot, Tacla, Temple, Teñoso, Tictic, Torre, Verso, Viñas, Ysaga (Isaga)
De Leon	Aguirre, Lina, Litan, Marzo, Recinto, Tisbe, Tuero
De Los Santos	Carrapati, Honrade (Onrade), Laclac, Lacorte, Lacteo, Laidea/Laydia, Lalang, Lalamonan, Lantin (Lanting), Latac, Latade, Latina, Latoja, Latuno, Laudis, Lequi, Let, Leus, Libiran, Libuit, Lindo, Lipio, Lislis, LLanes, Lubigan, Lucillo, Magdolot, Magpili, Magtundo, Maray, Marfori, Mayor, Mexico, Moren, Olano, Olbeda, Onte, Ontog, Orosco, Padilla, Paison, Parco, Pesa, Pisano, Posablem, Roblisa, Rubion, Saul, Saus, Tapat, Tubigan, Viaje
Domingo	Rojales
Donato	Mancio
Eleno	Lubian
Estacio	Arante, Quinita
Estanislao	Tividad
Enrico	Ona
Francisco	Mando
Fulgencio	Lalunio, Lasig
Germino	Lolog
Gabino	Latayan
Geronimo	Icaro/Ycaro
Gregorio	Mayol
Hermenegildo	Leyesa/Leyeza
Ignacio	Olave, Poblico
Jacinto	Landig
Joaquin	Payo, Silam
Lazaro	Latorre
Lorenzo	Las
Lucas	Linatoc, Lacay
Manuel	Verte
Marcelino	Lomas
Marcelo	Contilla, Pestelos
Mariano	Olgado
Martin	Libita (Levita), Morada, Tornia
Matias	Lacar, Teru
Pablo	Lindo, Tala
Padua	Paulino
Paulino	Mision
Ramos	Laino, Naredo
Regino	Garing
Roberto	Lirag
Salvador	Libita (Levita), Latag, Lagos, Subiel, Savillo, Paet
San Agustin	Latosa
San Gabriel	Morfi (Morpi), Sureo, Tirado
San Luis	Liban
San Jose	Tiquio
San Juan	Libera, Lucero, Molata, Regil (Begil), Yamo
San Miguel	Lasat, Olayao
San Nicolas	Restan
Santa Ana	Lajara, Loliña, Marave, Vilela
Santa Ynes	Turino
Santiago	Letargo, Lupac, Sabili
Santo Niño	Alabastro, Lailo (Laylo)
Sebastian	Pirit
Silvestre	Luque, Nerja
Simeon	Lolon
Tadeo	Pernez, Serios
Tiburcio	Martija
Urbano	Lumbera
Valentin	Lat, Tapalla
Ventura	Saus
Ysidro	Nara

SANGLEYS (Filipino-Chinese mestizos)

PREVIOUS NAME	NEW CATALOGUE NAME
Cornelio	Recio
(de la) Cruz	Latorre, Mea/Mia, Mayo, Sales
(de) San Miguel	Luz, Metra/Mitra
Teodoro	Recto, Templo

INDIO FAMILIES NOT REQUIRED TO CHANGE SURNAMES

• Africa
• Altamirano
• Briones
• Catigbac
• Calao
• De los Reyes
• De Mendoza
• De Silva
• De Torres
• Dimaano
• Dimayuga
• Dimaculangan
• Gonzales
• Lopez
• Macarandang
• Macasaet
• Magtibay
• Manguiat
• Mantuano
• Magcauas
• Mantuano
• Masongsong
• Maralit
• Panganiban
• Roxas
• Solis
• Zara

SANGLEY FAMILIES NOT REQUIRED TO CHANGE SURNAMES

• Aranda
• Kison/Quizon
• Malabanan
• Ynciong/Inciong

Below, some images showing how the Claveria decree was executed in church records:

Image source:  Renz Marion D. Katigbak.

Image source:  Renz Marion D. Katigbak.

For the first few years of the Claveria decree implementation, the Filipinos were required to write and sign their name with the new surname plus the old surname prior to 1849.  Image source:  Renz Marion D. Katigbak.

Notes and references: