Live in the Philippines

Live in the Philippines helps expats with visas, moving and other services regarding the Philippines.

What is your middle name?

Philippine Culture / by

My name is Robert Charles Martin.  Robert is my first name, Charles is my middle name, and my last name is Martin.  There are a few differences in the way names work here in the Philippines, though.  Let’s have a look.

First thing, what we call your “last name” is not called that here.  They call it your “Family name.”  Makes sense, I mean, all the people in your family share that name, right?

Another big difference is how middle names work.  You see, your middle name in the West is chosen by your parents when you are born.  It doesn’t work that way here.  Your middle name is automatically your mother’s maiden name!  For example, let’s just say that my mother’s maiden name was Smith.  If that were the case, my name would have been Robert Smith Martin, instead of Robert Charles Martin!  Now, that is totally different from how middle names are chosen in most Western countries.

Now, and interesting thing, very interesting in my mind.  If you are a woman, your in addition to your last name, your middle name will also change when you get married!  For example, Feyma’s first name is Maria Pima.  Her middle name before marriage was Rodriguez (her mother’s maiden name).  Her last name (maiden name) before we were married was Bayoy.  When we got married, her name became Maria Pima Bayoy Martin.  So, her former maiden name became her middle name, and my last name became her last name.  Much different from how it works in western countries!

Now, if you look at our kids’ birth certificates (they are all US born), their names follow the US format, we chose their first name and middle name, and their last name is Martin.  However, whenever they have any kind of thing at school, the school automatically adds the “Bayoy” as their middle name.  So, in short, according to the school, our kids have two first names, a middle name (Feyma’s maiden name), and Martin as their last name.  We always listed their name as it is on their birth certificates, Bayoy was never listed as their middle name.  But, all of their school records and such are automatically affixed with that as their middle name.

I suppose this all relates back to my article about birth certificates a couple of weeks ago.  For me, whatever names we chose for the kids should be how their names are listed on their school records, or any other official records.  We were never even asked, though.  Oh well…

Just another way how things can be a little different here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hi Bob,

    I cause even more confusion here because in Bradford where I come from, middle names were not very popular so I am just Christopher Dearne!
    People here seem to add a middle name for me, from where they choose them I do not know!
    When I am asked, Why don't you have a middle name I usually tell them that my family was very poor and could not afford a middle name for me! That confuses them even more!

  2. Bob,
    I was just wondering about something. My wife and I discussed adopting her brothers daughter since we are basically the only ones caring for her. If we adopt her would we pick her name (they are in the Philippines), or would she get my last name and my wife's maiden name as a middle name, or would she retain her mother maiden name as a middle name. Right now she has her mother's last name as the parents were not married. The father and the mother have very little contact with her, so I was thinking maybe better to officially adopt her then to track them down when needed for official things. I don't think my wife even knows where her brother is most of time.

    • The answer to your questions can be found by searching online: G.R. No. 148311 Decision March 31, 2005. In the Matter of the Adoption of Stephanie Nathy Astorga.

      It will answer the questions of the name given to an adopted child.

      This case decision also answers the question about middle names in the Philippines.
      For the most part middle names are not regulated by law, middle names are discretionary.

  4. Hi Bob – When we were married, my wife, Emy, just added another name to the end of the string and didn't make any substitution. So, she is: Nemesia Aurora Velasco Dancel Keating. There could have been another name just before the last one due to a de facto adoption by a childless aunt & uncle, but it was decided then that the name would be too long!

    Guess things are different everywhere!

  5. Hi Bob, haha funny story about that too, as I didn't quite have a grasp on how that worked so my wedding ring has inscribed RBK what should be RAK abd my wife's ring has the correct TJK and our wedding date 🙂

  6. It took me a while to realise that the prefix 'Ma.' was not actually a title, but simply an abbreviation of 'Maria'.

  7. over here in mexico, your last name is your mom’s maiden last name (your father’s last name is moved to the middle).

    so, if i were to follow that rule, i become “mariano dwyer”, which would raise far more confused eyebrows towards this asian guy with a spanish first name & an irish last name.

  8. Hi Bob
    I remember when I opened up a bank account there. I wrote my whole name and somehow the person at the bank said my middle name was my mother's maiden name. I said no. Then she said it has to be, that I made a mistake and said I needed to correct it. It took a couple of minutes to explain that in the U.S. our parents choose a middle name for us. That was on my first trip to the Philippines.

  9. Hi Bob
    I think the way in which the middle names are chosen in the philippines has a lot to do with their hispanic history, I have always been one for getting to know the locals and whilst I was in Gran Canaria ( spannish Islands) this subject came up and low and behold there women keep their maiden names too.
    When you think about it it's a good job we dont have the same system in the west. " imagine Elizabeth Taylor's full name now hahaha.

  10. Hi Bob – as I'm pretty sure you know this issue has become more and more of a problem for us. Based off the information I had at the time, from what I felt were reliable sources, we decided to have Rechie keep her middle name instead of adopting her previous last name. We weighed the pluses and minuses and it came down to the fact that it was supposedly easier to get things like social security card, green card, driver's license, etc. here in the US if her middle name matched her birth certificate.

    I can't say whether that was true or not, but I can say we had no problems getting any of thsoe. The problem first arose when we had to get her passport renewed. We sent in all the paperwork, including the Report of Marriage. I was taken by surprise when her passport came back with the Pilipino custom (some say law but I've never seen proof of that) of her previous last name being used as her middle name. This did not match any other ID that she had or still has.

    I did call the embassy and questioned them about this. They would not budge, they were adamant as a matter of fact. I was offered to apply for a Certificate of One and the Same, but that was as far as they would go. I checked into it elsewhere and was told that as long as we brought her birth certificate when we traveled that it would not be an issue, and very likely not checked anyway. That's what we did when we traveled last year.

    Well now we are being told her TIN must be updated from her single status to married, and you guessed it – they want to use the Pilipino standard and refuse to honor her real married name. I've tried to explain that we were not married in the Philippines, but that little tidbit seems unimportant to anyone.

    I've given up trying to deal with this, as I can see nothing but continued problems in the future. We sent off the requirements for the Certificate of One and the Same to the Philippine Embassy in San Fran yesterday. With any luck we'll have that in a week or two. If nothing else, it will put my mind at ease going forward with legal documents that we will need.

    Had I known back then what I know now, we'd have just gone with the Pilipino custom and dealt with whatever issues that MAY have created here. It's a lot easier for me to deal with issues here in the US than in the Philippines, since this is where we are currently.

    Good article!

    • Hi Randy! I wanna know how was the issue going on now? ‘cuz i am in the same situation. Was the middle name issue have been fixed? Is your wife a American citizen now?

  11. When I lived in Puerto Rico the woman's maiden went last. Example:
    Young Miss Maresol (firstname) Lopez (fathers sir name or family name) Torres(mother's Maided Name) in that order. Now she marries Joe Smith and becomes Maresol Torres Smith Lopez as the fathers name now goes last) and we pray to heaven she does not marry again for once she has a name it stays for life. Now in Korea and China most western people don't know, (I said most!)that if you meet a guy named Lee Chou that his first name is Chou and last is Lee and they get upset if you refer to them as Mr. Chou. Because only friends/family use their first name. Which would make my name Paul Francis Confused Thompson, Which seems correct!

  12. Hi Randy,

    I have the same problem with my passport when i renewed it after getting married here in the States, It came back, filipino style and they wont let you changed it too. So, all my ID's here in the states have my middle name from when i was still single except my passport, what my husband does when we get tickets to travel for me is he dont put any middle name at all,less confusion, anyways when u get out of states they only ask for passport and ticket and when you get in the States, immigration officers will ask for your green card, not the passport at all except to put a stamp on it that you arrived if your a permanent resident.

  13. Hello Bob & Neil, is it also correct that in the US, parents also choose the first name aside from the middle name you pointed out?

    My name here in the US is sort of an anomaly(like most immigrants, I guess). My sister and all my sisters-in-law are all reduced to Marias.
    My legal name here has my mother's surname as my middle name. It's bec that's how I understood the question 'middle name'. I actually had a "middle name" except that I dropped it whn I applied for immigration since it was not in my BC, but only in my baptismal certificate.

  14. You are correct about the Phil's adoption of the spanish system in the order of names. It used to be reflected in official documents where the name is arranged as such: First name (w/c may include another 'first' name), Surname Y middle name. Thus, a single woman can have a name like: Maria Cristina Lagdameo Y Gatmaitan. Notice the use of "Y" to denote the two family names which Ma. Cristina came from.

  15. kamusta bob
    hehehe i guess we share the same middle name my friend.
    im Ronald Charles Wadsworth.it is a nice middle name in which i was named after my grandlolo.
    salamat bob

  16. Hi Bob- I must be pinoy as my name is James after my grandfather on my mothers side.Kennedy again my mothers maiden name and Cunningham after my father.That was common when I was born.Peoples names also tell a story in the UK.Cunningham is a scottish name originating from Ayrshire and Kennedy was Irish in my grandfathers case originating from County Claire.
    Our own kids are Santiago from ther mothers maiden name and Cunningham for mine so I guess we are following tradition.
    Kind regards.
    Jim.

  17. My husband and I are in the middle of adopting a little girl in the Philippines (We just had the first court hearing in June and next one is coming up in Sept.) I really don't care for her first name and I want to changed it to April. She was born in April. I have a daughter name Autumn. My full name is Augustina and yes I was born in August. So It was going to be: August, Autumn and April. 🙂

  18. Hi Paul – One thing… in the Philippines, having more names seems to be a sort of "status symbol." The more names you have, the more wealthy or powerful you seem to be! 😆

  19. hi roy
    I would have guessed that it was the case that the maiden name became the middle name as the philippines does have a great hispanic influence, however I was surprised to see that this isnt the case in mexico and peurto rico, though I am wondering wether they might have portugeuse influence too.I could get a bit confusing to try to find out lol, as mexico I believe is the largest hispanic speaking nation in the world and Brasil which is just lower down is the largest porteugeuse speaking country in the world. As far as western tradition goes though in the middle ages your surname came from the type of work you did, Until the advent of the car the majority of people didnt travel much further than about 20 miles from where they lived so you ended up with villages having there own specialists e.g "John" the barber "James" the farmer as time went on villages became towns and it became easier to just call "john" the barber, john barber. what would be kind of interesting would be to see how asian surnames came in to being?

  20. Hi neil – I have had similar experiences where I made the mistake of trying to explain that middle names don't work that way where I come from! It's almost impossible to explain! 😉

  23. Hi Randy – Ha ha.. just wait, when you move to the Philippines, you get to go through all of this again… but this time with your name instead of Rechie's! Always a lot of fun! 😉

  24. Hi Paul – Wow! Now that is interesting that the names shift in that way in Puerto Rico! And, with PR being under US jurisdiction, that must create some real nightmares too, legally.

  27. Hi macky – So, the naming convention in Mexico is the same as what Paul described for Puerto Rico! I never knew about that!

    Yeah, you've got a bit of an identity crisis going on with your name! 😉

  29. Hi Bob- We returned on the 24th July only to discover Marilou's brother died the previous evening whilst we were en-route.
    The first week was taken up with his wake and funeral arrangements so this is the first week we have had to relax since returning.
    Kind regards.
    Jim.

  30. Hi Bob..& also identical w/ the Spaniards. & Almost identical w/ the Filipinos if we drop the use of "Y". Trouble is we usually drop the "Y" but do assign the mother's name as the middle name. Hence, the order changes as 1.)First/Given Name, 2.)Middle Name (Mother's maiden name that could be represented in initial & 3.) Father's surname. Wow I learned a lot. PR, Mexico & Spain are the same. The Phil modified it quite a bit. But the US & the Phil have a different interpretation of what's a middle name.

  31. Hi CRIS – I've got to remember to make sure the airline tickets match her passport or leave out the middle name as you described. That can be a real problem. The US really only cares about the green card for the most part, as you said, but we do carry the marriage license just in case.

    Our issue now is less about travel and more about other documents and legal things, especially in the Philippines. I think we'll be OK with the Certificate of One and the Same. At least I hope so!

  32. I have no middle name….but my marriage certificate has my middle name as 'Taylor' which is my mothers maiden name…..so perhaps I am not married after all 🙂

  34. Very informative, Bob. Maybe, sometime you will explain how the aunts and uncles are called grandparents there. My head still spins in confusion!

    Thanks,
    Ed

  36. I actually like the Philippine system of adapting automatically the mother's maiden name as the child's middle name. Why leave out the mother in the child's name? I'm proud to bear my mother's. In essence, a Filipino name is a family unit. Child, Mother and Father.

    • Old old comment but it never has been left out by crede, most everyone has always had the ability to give a name that please them.

  37. Hi Bob!

    Since I'm Filipino, I've never really given our naming conventions much thought. But I do know that it could potentially get confusing for foreigners. Did you know that a widow (who presumably already carries the last name of her late husband and a middle name from her original last name), if she remarries, her late husband's last name would become her middle name? (Of course, her new husband's last name would become her new last name.)

  38. Blogie,

    I was widowed and got remarried. Before I got married, my legal and full name was Augustina B.(mother's surname) A. (father's surname). Then I got married and was changed to Augustina A.(father's surname) Saunders. Basically, my mother's surname was taken out, Aguirre (my father's surname became my middle name).

    Then, I was widowed… and got remarried. My name is now legally Augustina A. Thompson. So, no my dead husband's last name didn't become my middle name. I kept my father's family/surname for that. So I think if you follow the "Filipino way" you will always use your father's surname as your middle name no matter how many times you get married.

  39. Hi Ed – Hmm.. Not sure I could stretch that into a whole article. Basically, all family members of the generation of the grandparents are considered grandparents. Same for aunts, uncles, etc. It can be confusing! 😆

  42. Blogie – I totally agree with your Japanese friend. I am not against Filipino naming conventions, nor do I think it should be changed. But, when a foreigner already has a name, why should they be forced to fit into the local custom, when they clearly do not?

  43. Hi Bob- I have always been aware that my wifes middle name was her mothers maiden name, but I didnt relise it was the norm in the R.P.
    Her middle name is Mendoza, which sounds pretty Spanish to me…

  44. Hi! Bob,
    Yeah it's confusing but i think the reason why we need to use our mother's maiden name in all our transaction is to avoid criminal or illegal activities, like in the US , the PHILIPINES had a lot of the same real names, like for eg, EVELYN RAMIREZ AQUINO but there's another one who claimed that she was EVELYN AQUINO specially if she was supposed to claim her late husband SSS pension, in order for the company to determine that she is the real wife , they need to verify her real name w/ her middle initial (before she got married) and if turns out that she has different middle name she will be in big trouble and liable to prosecution so i think using our mother's maiden name is just right to protect us against anomally of any forms unless other wise the other person have the same mother as your's, then that is another headache . lol!
    I already encountered the same problem when i recieved a call and told me that i won a raffle ticket so when i asked the caller about my name , she said you're "REBECCA FERRY " right? i said yes but then i asked what is the middle initial, she then told me " MEDINA", I said no i'm not that person coz my middle initial is F. so it turns out that we have two person here in HK w/ the same name…. yeah it's really confusing….

  45. Bob,
    Interesting article and comments. I spent a few some days before our wedding trying to figure out how it works and what it should be…I wish this article had been around in 2006! We're in Oman working and got married at the UK Embassy here (US citizens cannot do this!)and then had to get the marriage authenticated by authorities in Oman. Anyway In the end we used her fathers family name as the middle name and then my family name. Its worked out well and not caused us any issues for any visas or even when we applied for the Filipino passport. Guess I will have the previously commented issues if I open a bank account.

  46. Hi Wildcat – I am not sure I understand. If you have a middle name that is your Mom's maiden name, or if you have a middle name that your parents chose for you, why would one help track criminal activity and the other would not? It seems to me that either would be just as effective as the other.

  47. Oh that's a hoot! Thanks for giving me a laugh while sit here in the dreariness of Alaska.

  48. This is interesting stuff and I believe I am down on my marriage certificate as Louis Alexander Paczkowski Tamasi. For years I went by Alex to everyone I knew friends and family alike. Now there are few who call me by that name I doubt I would respond to it anymore… my my how times change.

  50. Hi again Bob and peeps
    It's just occurred to me while reading a few more of the articles here that the main reason's behind the need for the middle name is for governmental verification, I am not saying this was the original concept of the middle name being used,Here in the UK and I think they have something similar in the USA we have a social security number from this one number from this one number and nothing else you can be identified by the police, medical boards, social security, dentist border control driving licence authority, birth deaths and armed forces it brings everything about you as far as official procedure goes right down to this number.
    it is kind of like your own unique IP address for your life.I dont know if the Phils has this system but it could dispense with a lot of red tape if they used it.

  51. Hi Bob:

    My wife and I were married in the Philippines over 12 years ago. I didn't have a middle name, so the municipal office took my mom's maiden name right off my paperwork and that became my middle name for the marriage contract (license). They told me that according to way the things work, a person MUST have a middle name for legal documents. Same thing at the PNB too when we opened up the passbook savings. I just took this and ran with it, as I had the paperwork from our marriage to back it up. It just stuck in any legal business I've had to do there since, and that's the way it's been.

  52. you're right, roy. when I went back to the philippines after getting married here, people couldn't understand why i kept on using my full name and did not adopt my husband's surname. Here in Spain, your name stays as is after you got married, after you got divorces, after you remarried, etc… no need to change names everytime… just your civil status. : ) And here, whenever you have to sign any document, it says: NAME: Leire
    FIRST SURNAME (Father's surname): Lagdameo
    SECOND SURNAME (Mother's surname): Rodriguez
    So in Spain, that would be Leire Lagdameo Rodriguez while in Philippines, that would be Leire Rodriguez Lagdameo or just Leire R. Lagdameo.

  53. This is an Island that when I was stopped by the police for passing on the sholder of the road, the beer I was holding was not an issue. But I neaver heard of any problems with the very long names and they are smart enought to leave the mothers name off anything dealing with the U.S. side of the goverment. Maybe that's why their drivers License is soooo big!(I've still got my old one)

  55. Hi Roy,

    Not sure I am following this right, but the "Y" in Spanish means "and", so maybe that is the reason it is there between the names, not sure though. I have never seen a hispanic or Spanish bithcertificate before.

    Adios :),
    Danny 🙂

  57. Hi, guys!

    Basically, the way I understand it, the naming convention in the Philippines has always been a sort of tracker-cum-verifying tool.

    Evelyn is right when she says it's a way to check if you're the person you're claiming you are.

    Philippine names also track the many changes that your name undergo.

    Your latest Family Name (esp. if you're female) will always be at the end, and the Family Name that preceded that change would go in the middle, hence the Middle Name. It's a bit confusing (especially if you attach the official papers that come with such changes, LOL!)…If you're male, the only time your last name will change is if you (1) applied for a change of name, or (2) someone adopted you. Your name will be with you for the rest of your life. It's only when you're female that it becomes quite convoluted. 🙂

    But back to the tracking thing…Actually, for the older generation–what with all the Spanish sounding names, having several people with the SAME first, middle, and last names were quite common. So, if you somehow end up having a full name that's exactly similar to one who's tangled with the law a few times, what the government does is get your mother's maiden name and your father's middle name to verify.

    So let's say you're officially registered as Juan dela Cruz (which is a VERY VERY popular name) and somewhere in the Philippines, there're several Juan dela Cruzes. Trouble is, several Juan dela Cruzes are also in jail or have pending criminal cases. So there's not pretty much you can do in terms of applying for legal clearances or documents (eg, passport, NBI, business permits, etc) unless you clarify with government that you're not THAT type of Juan.

    What you do is prove to the government that you're the OTHER, er, type of Juan dela Cruz who's got no records. So you provide your mother's maiden name, and your father's middle name. Let's say your Father is Pedro Ramirez Dela Cruz and your Mother is Elisa Valera Purificacion. Ergo, you're officially Juan Purificacion dela Cruz y Ramirez (Your first name, mom's maiden name, dad's family name y dad's middle name); much different from Juan Marquez Dela Cruz y Divina who's got legal issues. (Dad's middle name is of course, his mom's maiden name hehehe…)

    Hence, the school's insistence in inserting Bob's wife's maiden name and the government's insistence in applying your mother's last name as your middle name despite having a perfectly legitimate middle name of your own, thank you. Of course, Filipino parents have become quite creative in giving names to their children (basically because of the problem with having similar names as others) but the Philippine Congress still has to make changes to our naming convention to keep up with the changing times. (Of course, they may also never get around to it.)

    In any case, I love the Filipino naming convention. It's you're whole genealogy in a nutshell. 🙂

    My 2 cents' worth…

    PS: I'm just so grateful that my Mom gave me quite a unique name (I believe, it's one in 6 billion plus. 😉 She solved the wanting-to-be-unique-from-the-other-Filipino-names dilemma by combining her and my dad's name. Corny, but nonetheless effective hehehe… (Btw, it's also a traditional way to give Filipino children their names–combining the parents names in varied ways.)

  59. hi, i grew up in the Phils and recently moved here. i met my husband to be a year ago and we were talking about how we name our children someday. now thinking about it upsets me coz i want my children to get my family nmae as their middle name. lol

  60. There is NO LAW in the Philippines that states you must use the Mothers Maiden Name as the Childs Middle Name. If you think there is you are among the 99% that do not know the Law in your own Country. You can use what ever Middle Name you wish, and that is the Facts!!

    • My goodness, you don’t seen like a very happy guy! The article didn’t say anything about any law. But, if you knew about the Philippines you would realize that law or no law, that is how it is done.

      • Not all Filipino parents use their mothers family as their child’s middle name when naming their child, and they do not have to. The problem is that 99% of the population do no know they can use any middle name when naming their child.

        • Hi Shaun – It seems like you have trouble understanding what is black and white. As I already pointed out to you, the article on which you are commenting says nothing about this being the law. It says that this is the practice.

          Loosen up a bit, and READ before commenting.

    • Correct. There is no legal requirement. There are some cultures, here in Philippines that use only surname and paternal surname lineage system of the father. Indians, Chinese, even some Muslim and other minorities. There is no compulsory law that states, one has to do that. It is a cultural thing. If one starts to impose one’ culture’s values on another culture, it is racist, ethno-centrist and above all it leads to social conflict between ethnic groups in a nation. Some people here think that everyone in the Philippines is the same, that is not really the case. The Philippine law values liberty and freedom for everyone. One might think, that putting Mother’s surname into a child may a good thing, but again, the “surname” of the mother is that of another man (the father), and some one else may have the same surname (cousin/paternal uncle or some other distant relative), why should a child have the surname of two men? one man, their father is more than enough. For some cultures, the father’s responsibility to provide for the child is clearly evident in the surname. It is a matter of cultural viewpoint, there is no right or wrong, , my way better than your way here. Some foreigners choose to name their child as per the paternal system, it does not mean sexist or misogynist. The choice is yours. Even bigger clowns are those who allow clerks to change official documents, your official documents, license, everything should match what is in your passport, not what the clerk “feels” in her/his “culture” is to be right. Any name change on official documents, can mean a different identity in computer records, in today’s world of Databases. If you find there is a mistake, correct it or take it to a lawyer and inform the clerk, to follow what is in your official passport/official documents. These are not jokes nor things to be tampered with. I am a lawyer, I deal with these things.

  61. Hi Bob! I am Filipina, i have this worries right now about this middle name issue because recently i am married to British citizen and his middle name in the marriage certificate is his mother’s maiden name.Do you think it will be a conflict when we file a our visa because in his passport is only given name (2 names) and surname.

  62. I’m typing all the necessary information to apply for the passport. One of the question is my Middle name i don’t use any middle name and it doesn’t say that on my Birth certificate. Is it required to have a middle name or initial to apply for Philippine passport? Please advise asap.

    • Hi Michael – This is a site that is mostly read by foreigners… you are very welcome here, but when you ask questions regarding Philippine law, we are not your best source of info. You really should inquire with the DFA, as they are the authority that issues passports in the Philippines.

      Good luck to you, my friend.

      • What ever is on your Birth Certificate. You do not have to have a middle name by Law in the Philippines. The problem is even DFA employees do not know this.

  63. Illegitimate and legitimate my mom never marry my dad and i am carrying my mom’s last name. My concern on the passport questions if i am illegitimate child or legitimate?

  64. Hi AJ –

    I enjoyed reading your first impressions of the States. It sounds a lot like a promdi’s first trip to Manila. LOL

    When you get around to observing security guards at the malls in the U.S. (you would rarely see them posted at banks or 7-11s), I’d be interested to know about your impression of them compared to Filipino security guards at the malls in the Philippines.

    You will find my own impression of Filipino security guards at Philippine malls in this article:

    http://liveinthephilippines.com/security-guards-in-the-philippines/

  65. I’m a Brit and I married my Filipina in the Philippines this year. I became aware of the different naming conventions before getting married and did a bit of research before filling in the marriage licence form.

    I have a Two first names and a single surname. I filled in the form very carefully. Where it asked for first name, I wrote my two first names. Where it asked for ‘middle name’, I wrote ‘not applicable’. Where it asked for my parents names, I again wrote ‘not applicable’ in the ‘middle name’ spaces. This meant thy were unable fill those spaces with incorrect middle names. Having researched, I have seen a lot of Westerners have had incorrect middle names added. I made sure that didn’t happen. I also presented a covering letter explaining the difference in name conventions and how we wanted both our names to be shown. I also explained that my wife would be dropping her middle name so that we had consistency with the British naming convention. They complied with our wishes.

    My wife will soon be applying for a new PH passport with my surname and her middle name dropped. She has already found official government guidance that this can be done. British forms don’t have boxes for middle names. We wanted to do things to ensure uniformity on all forms in both countries.

      • Walang anuman, Bob. As me and my wife are apart at the moment, I tend to get to PH 2 or 3 times per year with at least a one month stay per trip. I will be back again August. It will probably be a about 12 months before she comes to the UK so I try and spend as much time there as I can. The UK has now got crazy strict and it’s probably now the strictest country in the world to bring a a wife. Even the US is easier!

        The relevant rules I was referring to in my original post are these:

        Article 370 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines:
        A married woman may use:

        (1) Her maiden first name and surname and add her husband’s surname, or

        (2) Her maiden first name and her husband’s surname, or

        (3) Her husband’s full name, but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as “Mrs.”

        I hope that will help others in the same situation.

        Mike
        Ingat

  66. I finally found a discussion that is relevant to my situation right now. I am currently applying for spousal visa to the States using my married name in the application ( in Philippine format) -first name/father’s last name/husband’s last name., but i have noticed from the letter that the immigration have sent me that they’ve changed my name to the US format- keeping my mom’s maiden name as my middle name as to what appears in the passport and other pertinent documents. I haven’t changed my status in passport. I am still using my maiden name. However, i was using my married name in the application to be consistent with my passport when i renew and change by it’s name. I have been trying to explain to the NVC but seems like it is so complicated to them to understand. Our agent says I have to request to the immigration officer who will conduct my interview to follow the name in the application.otherwise, i have to ask them if i could just use my maiden name instead to reflect on my greencard and wait till i get my passport renewed to avoid complications. I didn’t realize before how conplicated this could be. I should have used my maiden name in the application. But either way, the US and Philippine naming format would still contradict. This is a very confusing situation. *sigh*

    • Hi Bonita,

      I can completely relate to you. My wife experienced the same thing. We got the US government to change it. We had her name corrected on her Social Security card and her Green Card. When she was naturalized we had to have her name changed to match what was already on her Social Security and Green cards. Somewhere her name was still the name they gave her even though we told her what her name was. Some people in the US Government decide what they think you want to be your name and they override what you actually put on the forms you fill out thinking you must have made a mistake. It will work its way out. It is frustrating though. Good luck!

      Peace

      Jay

      • Hi Jay! Thanks for the comment! Did the US government follows what’s on your wife’s Philippine passport name? Was she able to travel outside of the country with her contradicting names of her Philippine passport and green card? If she did, how did things go? I’m so sorry for asking many questions! *peace brother:)

  67. In the Philippines, a FIRST NAME denotes to a biological given name of a child regardless of how many names it has. A MIDDLE NAME is definitely a mother’s maiden surname. A SURNAME/FAMILY NAME would be the last.

    Take my name for instance: TONIE JADE MELO MENDEZ

    TONIE JADE is my FIRST NAME
    MELO is my mother’s maiden last name, thus called my middle name
    MENDEZ is my surname.

    We have borrowed this tradition of bearing mother’s maiden surname from Spanish tradition, in which we had followed their naming format during Spanish Colonial Era (Thus, I would be called TONIE JADE MENDEZ Y MELO if I was alive at that time). Later, when United States took control in the Philippines after Spain, we have adopted the American system of having a middle name, yet using mother’s maiden surname.

  68. Be careful on plane tickets. Your name needs to fit – first, middle and last with no spaces in each cluster and then there is filling the U.S. Security form. Hehe