60 Filipino baby names: popular, traditional and unusual names for boys and girl
Filipino baby names draw from a diverse variety of languages and cultural sources. Parents looking for cool, unusual, creative and distinctive baby names could look to the Philippines for inspiration.
The Republic of the Philippines is a country is southeast Asia consisting of more than 7,000 islands (only about 2,000 are inhabited).
Filipino boy names and girl names often have Spanish influence, according to baby naming consultant Taylor Humphrey of What’s In a Baby Name.
"As the Philippines were a Spanish colony for 333 years, there’s a wide overlap between Filipino names and Spanish names, which are really popular in the U.S.," Humphrey said.
The Philippines were then a U.S. colony for almost 50 years, leading to a lot of overlapping in baby name trends.
Famous Americans with Filipino heritage include Bruno Mars, Dave Bautista, Olivia Rodrigo, H.E.R., Saweetie, Nicole Scherzinger and Vanessa Hudgens.
The Vital Statistics division of the Philippines Statistics Authority released lists of the most popular baby names in the Philippines in 2021.
10 most popular Filipino boy names with meanings
Jacob — supplanter
Nathaniel — gift of God
Gabriel — God is my strength
Nathan — given
Ethan — strong, firm
Ezekiel — God strengthens
Angelo — angel, messenger
James — supplanter
Joshua — the Lord is my salvation
Kyle — narrow spit of land
"All but three of the names — Nathaniel, Angelo and Kyle — fall within the U.S.’s top 100 most popular name list," Humphrey told TODAY Parents.
10 most popular Filipino girl names with meanings
Althea — with healing power
Angel — angel
Samantha — told by God
Princess — princess
Nathalie — birthday of the Lord
Sofia — wisdom
Sophia — wisdom
Jasmine — gift from God
Andrea — strong and manly
Angela — angel
"Of these 10, only Sofia and Sophia fall within the U.S. top 100," Humphrey said.
Humphrey added that of these other names Samantha, Nathalie and Jasmine were most popular in the mid-to-late 90s, while others like Andrea and Angela reached peak popularity in the late 70s.
Here are more Filipino baby names, according to the Pampers web site. As befits the diverse culture of the Philippines, these names draw from a wide variety of sources, from classical languages and traditional stories to popular culture.
Filipino boy names
Agustin
Arturo
Bagwis
Bayani
Crisanto
Dakila
Hari
Jomari
Kidlat
Makisig
Alon
Brando
Buhawi
Datu
Gregorio
Isagani
Joselito
Nimuel
Ricardo
Sandro
Filipino girl names
Bernila
Carmelita
Christina
Dolores
Evangeline
Liezel
Maria
Odesa
Perlah
Reyna
Amparo
Bituin
Cecilia
Divina
Gloria
Katherine
Liwayway
Maganda
Patience
Victoria
This article was originally published on TODAY.com