NAMES. A MERRY MIX Most Filipinos bear Iberian sounding surnames but this does not mean Iberian ance This was the result of a Spanish decree the 19th century which required all natives to acquire a spanish surname easier identification. In fact, in many Philippine towns, surnames begin with the same letter The decree gave surnames beginning with A to the capital and B C and others to the outlying towns. It was, therefore, easy one's monicipal origins using this method choosing first names however, was dictated by one's birth. One was named after the stint t whose feast day falls on one's birthday. No priest would baptize anyon not named after a saint. When Filipinos started to take English names, it became more complicated. No one has heard of St. Peggy or St. A happy ci m then was to mix the word "Maria (for the Virgin Mary) to eggy or susie so much so that 50% of Filipina girls seem to have been named Maria The fad for nicknames followed. Milagros finds her name old-fashioned, so she prefers to be called Mila or Mimi, Antonio becomes Tony and lose becomes lojo or Joey. A Whole line of influences can be seen in a name like Jose Bayani Chan-UB to his friends