Let me tell you this. My father’s name is Levi Baliza, his middle name is Basquiñas. My mother’s name (before marriage) is Rose Bermundo, her middle name is Bertumen. This is how I acquired my name – Ryan Bermundo Baliza.
I don’t know what to feel about this but let me tell you that in Bacacay alone there are three Ryan Baliza(s) presently in existence. I haven’t met the two but I learned about them when I went over a municipal record. I can forgive the thought that there are many Ryan(s) in this cookie cutter world, but the thing that I am also sharing ‘Baliza’ with other 2 Ryan(s) is no longer fun.
Forgive me for being mean about this matter, but I’m pretty sure you too wouldn’t love the idea to have duplicates by name. Every person strives to be in any way unique and that’s my whole point. (peace to all Ryan Baliza(s) everywhere)
Anyways, that’s not the thing I want to stress out in my post. If you’ve noticed, the family names that both my parents acquired start with letter ‘B’. And if you are a Bacacayano or at least a friend or relative of one, you have probably noticed that most Bacacayano family names start with letter ‘B’. Consider my friends’ family names - Belen, Bellen, Bibal, Barrameda, Base, Bustamante, Barnedo, Barcebal, Biescas, Baldon, Bermas, Bernarte, Balaguer, Ballatan, Bermillo, Belleza, Bercasio, Balmedina, Baraquiel, Bonto, Baron, Bibon, Banzagales, Balute, Binamira, Bas, Basmayor, and a lot more. Bacacay is indeed a land of Bs.
I recall my former college professors, during a roll call, they would ask me, “Are you from Bacacay? Then I would answer “Yes”. I knew it… It’s because my family name starts with letter ‘B’. It’s a puzzle to me why the letter B is too common to most Bacacayano family names as the first letter. It makes me wonder - how were these names formulated in the first place? And if these names were formulated by choice, what made our ancestors choose the letter B as the first letter?
I don’t know what to feel about this but let me tell you that in Bacacay alone there are three Ryan Baliza(s) presently in existence. I haven’t met the two but I learned about them when I went over a municipal record. I can forgive the thought that there are many Ryan(s) in this cookie cutter world, but the thing that I am also sharing ‘Baliza’ with other 2 Ryan(s) is no longer fun.
Forgive me for being mean about this matter, but I’m pretty sure you too wouldn’t love the idea to have duplicates by name. Every person strives to be in any way unique and that’s my whole point. (peace to all Ryan Baliza(s) everywhere)
Anyways, that’s not the thing I want to stress out in my post. If you’ve noticed, the family names that both my parents acquired start with letter ‘B’. And if you are a Bacacayano or at least a friend or relative of one, you have probably noticed that most Bacacayano family names start with letter ‘B’. Consider my friends’ family names - Belen, Bellen, Bibal, Barrameda, Base, Bustamante, Barnedo, Barcebal, Biescas, Baldon, Bermas, Bernarte, Balaguer, Ballatan, Bermillo, Belleza, Bercasio, Balmedina, Baraquiel, Bonto, Baron, Bibon, Banzagales, Balute, Binamira, Bas, Basmayor, and a lot more. Bacacay is indeed a land of Bs.
I recall my former college professors, during a roll call, they would ask me, “Are you from Bacacay? Then I would answer “Yes”. I knew it… It’s because my family name starts with letter ‘B’. It’s a puzzle to me why the letter B is too common to most Bacacayano family names as the first letter. It makes me wonder - how were these names formulated in the first place? And if these names were formulated by choice, what made our ancestors choose the letter B as the first letter?
You may find my questions funny and even think of me as stupid. It’s ok though. I just want to learn. So I if you have opinions, feel free to share them. Tnx!!!
14 comments:
hey! my last name either starts with "B", Brocelango and my ancestors family name is Burce, Bobis and Bartolome
interesting post padi... a name can be derived from certain place, word, person, happening, etc. or it can be influenced by our culture. Maybe all of the B's were opted by Bacacay natives as part of their tradition.
rye, sorry i forgot to leave a comment on your previous post so i'll just do it here. i know it doesn't matter though. eheheh.
i wonder if that trend (most surnames starting with a common letter in a particular municipality) also applies in other provinces. nice observation though, or should i say, it is common knowledge already to our old folks here in albay.
nice to know you’re blogging already. im really really inspired to follow suit. eheh. i'll be looking forward to your next posts. hope to see and jam with you soon.
likay pirmi. :)
tnx jude!
blogging is fun..i swear!!!
tnx jude!
blogging is fun..i swear!!!
you know me? eheh.
di nga eh... but it seems we know each other well... pls identify anyway... tnx
ehem. :D
I'm a Baldon but I'm not sure if we're descended from Bacacayanos. Hehe. But what I know is that there is a reason why our surnames are like these. It's because of the Claveria Decree on Filipino Surnames (click) which was implemented during the Spanish era. If you notice surnames in other Albay towns also follow a certain letter.
For example, in Guinobatan it's P: Palencia, Palacio, Peralta, Papica, Pabelonia. In Oas, it's R: Roa, Reburiano Rebajante. And so on. It's actually very interesting. hehe
Nice Post!
nice dex!!! i appreciate ur effort for completing the "puzzle"... certified researcher ka tlga!!!
kudos!!!!
I am a Barcelona from Sorsogon. My father said that his grandparents were from Bacacay; evacuated because of the Mayon eruption and settled in Sorsogon.
Now to your question, why do Bacacayanons' family names start with B. This could be because of the "Catálogo alfabético de apellidos" that was created after Spanish Governor-General Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa issued a decree on November 21, 1849, to address the lack of a standard naming convention. Siguro ang letter B na-assign sa Bacacay. Galing ko mag cut and paste ano? Heto ang link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%C3%A1logo_alfab%C3%A9tico_de_apellidos.
Ayos ba Noy? The family names of people in Tiwi start with a C. Oas with R, Legazpi with A, Daraga with M. Dahil siguro sa Catalogo.
Nasagot na pala ni Dex.
A kaya pala. My paternal grandfather is a Bercasio from Bacacay, and my maternal grandmother is a Mendioro from Daraga. Thank you for the information po.
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