It is a known fact that Filipinos have a penchant for creating unique and witty names.
We are especially imaginative when it comes to giving nicknames. There’s Junjun, Dingdong, Tenten, and Popoy. Apparently, one syllable is not enough. Nicknames can also be a description of the person. My uncle has a driver we call Big Boy, not because he’s big, but just the opposite (he's just about my height, standing less than 5 feet).He also had a driver called Jackson, because he looks like Michael Jackson. We also have an abundant supply of Hs, Vs and Zs. Jhing, Bhoy, Vhong, Renz and Vinz all got one or two.
A friend's dad was especially creative in naming his children. They were named:
1. Akone - or Ako ni, meaning This is mine
2. Elane - or Ila ni, meaning This is theirs; and
3. Emone- or Imo ni, meaning This is yours
Of course we also subscribe to the 'normal' naming conventions, like naming kids after patron saints, popular celebrities, and using names found in baby dictionaries. But you may say that our 2 most common ways of naming children are:
Number 1. Combining the names of parents/grandparents- my sister’s and brother’s names are good examples of this. My sister is named Riobelle- Rio from my dad, Rogerio and Belle from my mom's Velma. My brother Manuel Jose is named after my grandfathers. Can you guess their names? Their names are already normal, compared to Vandolph, a by-product of Vanessa and Rodolfo.
Number 2. We also name children after popular celebrities, but with a comical twist. Edgar Allan Po and Edgar Allan Pe are obviously Chinoys named after the poet. I’ve heard of someone naming their baby Kobe Bryant Cruz. And I have a colleague named Earvin Magic Chongson. Parents are sometimes just plain cruel.
Now, not only do we pour our creative juices to coming up with creative names of people, we also do the same thing in naming our businesses. Here are just some of them:
Tindahan sa Kanto - meaning corner store, for a sari-sari store that’s literally on the corner
Barak-Ooh-Mama for a brand of kapeng barako
Esteban Labada- Labada means laundry. So this is a laundry shop found in Esteban Abada Street.
Alabank- for a thrift bank found in Alabang
Johnny’s The 'Fried' of Marikina - food store whose specialty is fried chicken
Pakopya ni Edgar - a photocopier shop probably owned by Edgar
Automobili Co. - a buy and sell car shop. When read, this means literally 'Your car, I'll buy'
Goto Me Goto Ü - a goto shop
So you see, we find humor in even the most mundane task of naming a person or a business. It's definitely more fun in the Philippines.
P.S. If you don't get the connection of the picture to this post, she's Laura Branigan, who sang the 80s hit The Name Game. Sorry, I can't find a better photo haha!
A friend's dad was especially creative in naming his children. They were named:
1. Akone - or Ako ni, meaning This is mine
2. Elane - or Ila ni, meaning This is theirs; and
3. Emone- or Imo ni, meaning This is yours
Of course we also subscribe to the 'normal' naming conventions, like naming kids after patron saints, popular celebrities, and using names found in baby dictionaries. But you may say that our 2 most common ways of naming children are:
Number 1. Combining the names of parents/grandparents- my sister’s and brother’s names are good examples of this. My sister is named Riobelle- Rio from my dad, Rogerio and Belle from my mom's Velma. My brother Manuel Jose is named after my grandfathers. Can you guess their names? Their names are already normal, compared to Vandolph, a by-product of Vanessa and Rodolfo.
Number 2. We also name children after popular celebrities, but with a comical twist. Edgar Allan Po and Edgar Allan Pe are obviously Chinoys named after the poet. I’ve heard of someone naming their baby Kobe Bryant Cruz. And I have a colleague named Earvin Magic Chongson. Parents are sometimes just plain cruel.
Now, not only do we pour our creative juices to coming up with creative names of people, we also do the same thing in naming our businesses. Here are just some of them:
Tindahan sa Kanto - meaning corner store, for a sari-sari store that’s literally on the corner
Barak-Ooh-Mama for a brand of kapeng barako
Esteban Labada- Labada means laundry. So this is a laundry shop found in Esteban Abada Street.
Alabank- for a thrift bank found in Alabang
Johnny’s The 'Fried' of Marikina - food store whose specialty is fried chicken
Pakopya ni Edgar - a photocopier shop probably owned by Edgar
Automobili Co. - a buy and sell car shop. When read, this means literally 'Your car, I'll buy'
Goto Me Goto Ü - a goto shop
So you see, we find humor in even the most mundane task of naming a person or a business. It's definitely more fun in the Philippines.
P.S. If you don't get the connection of the picture to this post, she's Laura Branigan, who sang the 80s hit The Name Game. Sorry, I can't find a better photo haha!
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