Naming my Nephew

My sister called me up two days ago and asked me to contribute in giving a name for my nephew. He will have three names. An English name, a religious name and a Filipino name. So on my way to work the following day, I asked some friends to help me out think of unique Tagalong words. I sent them an SMS and went something like this.

“Hi guys. Please help me out list down some Filipino names for my nephew. My sister mentioned that the only name she thought of was Makisig.”

These were the replies that I got.

Molave, tapos nickname nya Mo! Kasi yan dapat ipapangalan sakin ng nanay ko kung naging boy ako! Ha Ha. (Molave, then his nickname would be Mo! ‘Coz my mom was supposed to give me that name if I turned out to be a boy! Haha) – Kimi

*A molave is a tree and is a popular Philippine hardwood. It is declared as the provincial tree of Bohol. It is a priced lumber, much more expensive than mahogany. They say that its wood is so strong and durable that even termites cannot eat it.

Wag Makisig kasi pangalan yan ng kalabaw namin. (Don’t call him Makisig because that’s our carabao’s name) – Mac

*The kalabaw or the Asian water buffalo is the Philippines’ national animal. It is highly associated with farmers, being the farm animal of choice for pulling the plow and the cart used to haul farm produce to the market.

So what do you suggest Mac? Well, never got any suggestions from him.

Kalayaan, Sumikat, Magiting, Kidlat Bahaghari – J9

*Kalayaan means independence or freedom. Sumikat means shine or popular. The word Magiting was mentioned in the Philippine national anthem. Some meanings are renowned, noteworthy and distinct. Kidlat means lightning while Bahaghari means rainbow.

Those were the first three messages I received. When I got to the garlic factory (why can’t it be the chocolate factory?!), I also mentioned the subject to the production staff. They thought of wonderful names in an instant. Of course we were all laughing in between when some of their colleagues mentioned funny and weird names. I am writing them in order.

Lakan (This is originally referred to a rank in the Filipino nobility which means "paramount ruler."The term May lakan dyan meant “there are many nobles there” referring to the noblemen who once walked the banks of the Pasig River near the Malacanang Palace.) – Leonard

Anahaw (This is the national plant of the Philippines. Its fan-shaped leaves are used for building house roofs. The trunk is used as house pillars, house floors, walking sticks and spear handles.) – Kuya Boyet

Bagwis – (The English translation of this word is long wing feather. It is a very old Tagalog word.) – Leonard

Lagablab (direct translation is flame, fiery) – Edhell

Limatik (My sister had a lot of close encounters with limatik or leech when she was still active in mountaineering. – Leonard

Putik (direct translation is mud)– Edhell

Paksiw (Paksiw is a proudly Filipino culinary term which means cooking with a considerable amount of a sour base. The souring agent is usually vinegar. I thought of this one because during my sister’s first few months of pregnancy, she ate a lot of food with vinegar or dipped almost everything in it!)

Daluyong ( English translation is water flow. May daluyong means where big waves roll.) – Leonard

Daloy (literally means flow)– Boyet

Then I received some more messages from my other friends.

Dakila. Malaya. Kidlat. Alon. Bughaw. Shet gusto ko yang mga pangalang yan. Haha. (Dakila, Malaya, Kidlat, Bughaw. S*** I like all those names! Haha) – Mariela

*Dakila means great or large, Malaya is free which is derived from the Tagalog word laya meaning freedom, Alon is wave, Bughaw is the color blue or the color of the sky.

Hahaha. Dami ako nyan. Lamberto. Marcelino. Nemencio, Francisco. Benedicto. Virgilio. Luisito. Isagani. Briccio. Restituto. Epitacio. Casiano. Lorenzo. Eusebio. (Hahaha. I have a lot. Lamberto. Marcelino. Nemencio, Francisco. Benedicto. Virgilio. Luisito. Isagani. Briccio. Restituto. Epitacio. Casiano. Lorenzo. Eusebio) – Daphne

Daphne’s SMS made me laugh so I replied back and said to her, “Not those! Hahaha… Filipino origin… Think deeper…”

Like Malakas and Maganda? Florante, Bathala? Crispin, Basilio, Damaso? – Daphne

*Malakas is strong. Maganda means beautiful. Bathala is a God.

This made me laugh again and I said to her, “Like Bathala, Malakas, Makisig, Martilyo, Damo, Pikit, Dilat, Gutom!”

*Makisig means refined grace or elegant. Martilyo is a hammer. Damo is grass. Pikit is when your eyes are close, dilat is when they are wide open. Gutom means hungry.

Then I got another SMS. This time from Marie.

Diwa! Nag iisip pa ako ng iba. (Diwa! I’ll think of some more names.) – Marie

*Diwa means essence or the soul, the gist or idea – the cost of inspiration of things.

Later that night, I got an email from Daphne of Filipino names. How many? A lot!

1. Lamberto

2. Marcelino

3. Nemencio

4. Francisco

5. Benedicto

6. Virgilio

7. Luisito

8. Eusebio

9. Briccio

10. Restituto

11. Benito

12. Romulo

13. Epitacio

14. Casiano

15. Lorenzo

16. Damaso

17. Malakas

18. Juan Antonio

19. Magiting

20. Francisco Miguel

21. Carlitos

22. Sergio

23. Fulgoso (patawa lang) joke only

24. Pulgas ( Patawa din lang ha) joke again

25. Santino

26. Miguelito

27. Crisostimo

28. Ibarra

29. Florante

30. Libertad

31. Crispin

32. Escario

33. Ronaldo

34. Ferdinand

35. Emilio

36. Manuel

37. Gregorio

38. Nolito Restituto Stone

39. Eusebio

40. Marnulfo

41. Tagpi ( Patawa lang) – means patch or patching of cloth

Before going to bed, the last message I got was an SMS from Marie again.

Baby names: Diwa, Maliksi, Huwaran, Ibarra, Leon, Kidlat, Buhawi, Datu, Bulan, Bagwis. – Marie

*Maliksi means fast. Huwaran means ideal or model. Ibarra is a character in the Noli Me Tangere novel written by the Philippine’s national hero Jose Rizal. Leon means lion. Buhawi means tornado. Datu is the title of a tribal chief together with Sultan and Rajah. All three words are titles of native Filipino royalty. Bulan or buwan means moon is also a native Indonesian word.

There you go Sis and Brother-in-Law. I hope that this research would help a lot. But I personally think that THE BLOBSTER is still the best name by a mile raised to the nth power!