Archive for October 30th, 2007

Surname is an important part of one’s personal identity. Through an individual’s surname, one is able to identify the ancestors and the family clan to which a person belongs.

In Asia, Chinese Immigrants (from China) from various Asian countries who have assimilated with other Asians, have created a unique fusion of Malay-Indones-Chinese people.

Like the Peranakans, Baba-Nyonya (Baba refers to Men and Nyonya for Women). They are of mixed blood, ancestry. They carry both the culture and tradition of  Chinese and Malay. The Filipino-Chinese also has a unique identity like the Malay-Chinese and the Indonesian-Chinese.  

Who are really the Filipino-Chinese? When we say Filipino-Chinese it can either mean of Chinese descent; Mixed blood, meaning of Chinese and Filipino descent, that is, the mother or the father is Chinese and of Chinese lineage. Chinese Mestizos, the father is a Chinese and the mother is a Filipina.

One way of identifying Filipinos of Chinese descent is through their surname. During the Spanish colonization our forefathers were forced to acquire and adopt a Spanish derived surname. Those who were of Chinese lineage often adopt the surname of their father. Most Common Filipino-Chinese surnames are Ang, Co, Chan, Chua, Ho, Tan, Sy etc. Another way is to combine the name of their Chinese parents and add the suffix “ko” at the end of each surnames. The “ko” is a Hokkien polite word, signifying respect. For example, the surname Gotiaoco. By syllabication; Go-Tiao-Co We can surmise that the Go is the family name. Tiao is the parents name and of course the Co as a polite word, although in some cases it can also be a part of the parent’s name. (Other examples: Co-Se-“Co”, Go-Chang-Co, Co-To-Co, etc.)

Lastly, not all Filipinos of Chinese descent use this system. Others, they’ve remove the Chinese portion of their surname and use the Spanish surname given in baptism. (For ex. Eugenio Ignacio Limcauco, may just be known as Eugenio Ignacio.)

Other ways of recognizing Filipino-Chinese surnames, the use of “Son” and “Zon”. (For ex. Bengzon, Tuason,)

 According to Dr. H. Otley Beyer, noted American anthropologist, the racial ancestry of Filipinos is as follows: Malay - 40%; Indonesian - 30%; Chinese - 10%, Indian (Hindu) - 5%, European & American - 3%, and Arab - 2%. Filipinos of today aren’t really what you can call pure Filipinos in terms of racial ancestry.  

Just like a famous saying, “Everyone will return to their roots.” The Filipino-Chinese of today knows the significance of their roots. We can never really reach our destination if we don’t look back from where we came from.