Philippine E-Journals

It is fascinating to know how names came into existence. It revealed a rich series of chronicles that took place in order the first set of names were finally established. The first recorded name can be attributed to Adam as reflected in the holy bible, were other names emerged and evolved, through the course of time and the growing social interactions among men. This paper explored the history on how names came into existence and its significance in relating it to other names based on genetic characteristics and/or by affiliation. In the Philippines the evolution of names integrated the inclusion of surname only in 1849. This development was distributed in various parts of the country maintaining our Hispanic image in the same way our culture and beliefs were molded, more or less based on language and not by genetic characteristics. Names are not simply names. It reveals the history of being a part of a family and even the community. This is a historical research which aimed to provide key elements in understanding the history and evolution of names that took place. This will also serve as a guide on how to construct genealogy, commonly known as the family tree.