This appendix of Tagalog (Filipino) surnames is meant to complement the contents of Category:Tagalog surnames. This will focus generally on surnames in Tagalog regions or of Tagalog speakers.

For the purposes of this page, the regions used to determine which surnames will be included here are Metro Manila, Central Luzon (except Kapampangan-speaking Pampanga and Tarlac), Calabarzon and Mimaropa (except Romblon province).

For information about surnames in the Philippines, see Appendix:Filipino surnames.

Note: While surnames are not generally written with diacritics (excluding the tilde in Ñ), surnames from Spanish or in Spanish orthography are marked with accents according to Spanish spelling rules for etymological and pronunciation purposes. Others may be marked with diacritics following Tagalog rules.

Background

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Before and during the early years of Spanish colonization, Tagalog people largely did not have a surname. Most only have one name. Fathers who bore a child lose their names at birth and changed those to one following their firstborn child. Following conversion to Christianity, such names have become surnames.

Many surnames of the Tagalog come from the Catálogo alfabético de apellidos by Governor-General Narciso Clavería in 1849, whose majority of it are Spanish surnames, but also includes may surnames from Basque, Catalan, Galician, Chinese, Philippine languages (Tagalog, Kapampangan, Cebuano) and some foreign languages. The catalog was created to resolve the confusion resulting from Filipinos adopting surnames of religious roots (e.g. de la Cruz, de los Santos, Tolentino) or after notable local nobles. The degree of implementation of the Catálogo alfabético de apellidos varied by province; in the Tagalog areas, the decree has been most strictly implemented on Marinduque and parts of Laguna. Tagalog-language surnames which are in the Catálogo can be found at Category:Tagalog surnames in the Catálogo alfabético de apellidos.

In addition to names from Spanish and other Iberian languages, there are also many indigenous Tagalog surnames across the Tagalog areas. Most of these surnames are concentrated in the southern Tagalog provinces (Batangas and Quezon in particular). Only a few of them already existed before the Catálogo.

Tagalog-speaking Filipino Chinese (usually from Fujian and Guangdong) usually have multiple-syllable surnames for those that came during the colonial era, usually those ending with -son/-zon (from Hokkien (sun)); others kept them (and romanized them according to Spanish orthography) or adapted surnames borne by most Filipinos. Chinese migrants that arrived in the Philippines since the end of the colonial era usually have single-syllable surnames.

Surnames by origin

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Indigenous surnames

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Despite most ethnic Tagalogs and native Tagalog speakers have surnames from Spanish and other languages, there are also many surnames that originate from, especially in Batangas. Many of these are spelled in Spanish orthography, but some of which has been partially or fully nativized in spelling (e.g. Katigbak from earlier Catigbag, Pagcaliwagan from earlier Pagcaliuagan, Masangkay from Masangcay, Makalintal from Macalintal).

Most of these indigenous surnames usually originate in the Catálogo alfabético de apellidos, but there are some which predate it, such as Magboo and Magadia, usually with origins among local nobility. Some surnames refer to ancient Tagalog leaders, historical or legendary, usually indicating loyalty or patronage to their family (e.g. Lacandola after Lakandula, Lontoc after Rajah Lontoc, Balagtas after Bagtas of Namayan), many of which were targeted by the Catálogo for replacement as these cause confusion especially in regard to taxation as these signify nobility and descent from those leaders.

Below is a list of surnames of Tagalog origin, arranged alphabetically (with Ñ and Ng treated as separate letters). The provinces where a certain surname (plus variant forms) is most common are listed after. Alternative spellings are listed beside the most common form:

Surnames from Spanish and other languages

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While there are also indigenous surnames, the rest of surnames by Tagalog people or speakers are of foreign origin, mostly Spanish and Iberian languages, plus Chinese. Also included are some surnames from the other Philippine languages where they occur in the Tagalog-speaking regions. Some surnames from other non-Philippine languages may have a particular association with any ethno-linguistic group.

For the purpose of this list, this list will mostly cover surnames that are prevalent across the Tagalog-speaking areas defined for the purpose of this appendix.

Surnames are listed in alphabetical order.

Spanish

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Basque

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Catalan

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Galician and Portuguese

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Chinese

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Character and romanization (Peh-oe-ji, Jyutping, Pinyin), and common romanization based on Mandarin are provided after the name.

Single-syllable surnames

  • Ang – Hokkien
  • Chan - Hokkien, Cantonese
  • Chang – Cantonese
  • Cheng – Cantonese
  • Ching – Cantonese
  • Chiu – Hokkien
  • Chua - Hokkien
  • Co – Hokkien
  • Cua – Hokkien
  • Dy – Hokkien
  • Gan – Hokkien
  • Go – Hokkien
  • Ho – Hokkien
  • Jao
  • King
  • Lam – Cantonese
  • Lao – Cantonese
  • Lee – Cantonese
  • Li - Mandarin
  • Lim – Hokkien
  • Lo – Hokkien
  • Ng – Hokkien
  • Ngo – Hokkien
  • Ong - Cantonese
  • Po – Hokkien
  • Pua – Hokkien
  • Que – Hokkien
  • Sia – Hokkien
  • So - Hokkien
  • Sy – Hokkien
  • Tan – Hokkien
  • Teng – Hokkien
  • Tiu – Hokkien
  • Ty – Hokkien
  • Uy - Hokkien
  • Wong - Cantonese
  • Yao – Hokkien
  • Yap – Hokkien
  • Yu – Hokkien

Bisayan

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Ilocano

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Main category: Ilocano surnames

Kapampangan

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Surnames from Kapampangan are also common across the Tagalog areas, especially Central Luzon. This were mostly borne by people of Kapampangan origin. Some of these names can be mistaken for a Tagalog origin, but this is mostly due to similarities from borrowing or shared origin (see Appendix:Kapampangan–Tagalog relations).

Pangasinan

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Moro (Muslim Filipino)

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Arabic

Maguindanao

Maranao

Most common

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Below is a list of the 100 most common surnames in each of the Tagalog-speaking provinces. Metro Manila, while not a province, is treated as a province for the purpose of this list. Independent cities outside of Metro Manila within the Tagalog area are also treated as province-level divisions. From north to south.

Rankings listed are from regional individual surname data by Forebears, a genealogical and personal name database.

Surname distribution also differs across the Tagalog-speaking regions: dela Cruz is common in Manila and Tagalog-speaking Central Luzon, while Mendoza is dominant in most of Southern Tagalog (especially Batangas, Quezon and Oriental Mindoro). There is a higher concentration of indigenous Tagalog surnames in Southern Tagalog, especially Batangas where most of which originate from.

By province and province-level division (Metro Manila, independent cities):

Metro Manila

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Aurora

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Bataan

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Bulacan

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Nueva Ecija

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Olongapo

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Zambales

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Cavite

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Laguna

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Rizal

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Batangas

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  1. Mendoza
  2. Hernández
  3. Manalo
  4. García
  5. Reyes
  6. Castillo
  7. Pérez
  8. Atienza
  9. Ramos
  10. Villanueva
  11. Gonzales
  12. de Castro
  13. Bautista
  14. Mercado
  15. Marasigan
  16. Ilagan
  17. Panganiban
  18. Landicho
  19. de Guzmán
  20. Rosales
  21. Malabanan
  22. López
  23. de Torres
  24. de Chávez
  25. Gutiérrez
  26. Vergara
  27. Tolentino
  28. Umali
  29. Macatangay
  30. de Villa
  31. Dimaano
  32. Carandáng
  33. Evangelista
  34. Ramírez
  35. Catapang
  36. Magpantay
  37. de León
  38. Javier
  39. Rodríguez
  40. Magsino
  41. Andal
  42. Maranan
  43. dela Cruz
  44. Enríquez
  45. Magnaye
  46. Álvarez
  47. Salazar
  48. Valencia
  49. delos Reyes
  50. Briones
  51. Cueto
  52. Comía
  53. Arellano
  54. Marquez
  55. Austria
  56. Martínez
  57. Sánchez
  58. Aquino
  59. Flores
  60. Rivera
  61. Dimaculangan
  62. Águila
  63. Tenorio
  64. Sarmiento
  65. Macalalad
  66. Torres
  67. Silva
  68. Ilao
  69. de Ocampo
  70. Guevarra
  71. Alcántara
  72. Punzalán
  73. Roxas
  74. Gomez
  75. Cabrera
  76. del Mundo
  77. Bathan
  78. Chávez
  79. Caringal
  80. Morales
  81. Magtibay
  82. Balmes
  83. Dinglasan
  84. Panaligan
  85. Aldáy
  86. Medrano
  87. Cantos
  88. de Roxas
  89. Endaya
  90. Macaraig
  91. Santos
  92. Dimayuga
  93. Robles
  94. de los Reyes
  95. Ocampo
  96. Villalobos
  97. Sangalang
  98. Suárez
  99. Ébora
  100. Medina

Quezon

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Lucena

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Marinduque

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Common surnames in Marinduque mostly begin with the same letters (usually R, Z, M, S, C and L) as a result of strict implementation of the Catálogo; most names are generally uncommon outside of the province.

Occidental Mindoro

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Oriental Mindoro

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Most common surnames in Oriental Mindoro are common in Batangas and other Tagalog-speaking provinces, reflecting migrations from Batangas and other Tagalog-speaking provinces into the eastern half of Mindoro.

Palawan

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