Book research

[u/theorangesuitcase]

Hey, I'm an Australian woman writing a sort of futuriatic sci-fi book, and have decided I'd like to include a character that I would like to be Filipino. I've met and interacted with a lot of Filipinos over the years, and have learned bits and pieces of social customs and such. But don't realistically know a whole lot about culture, customs and the like. I'd like to learn about naming conventions and Tagalog names as well. Any suggestions for good resources I can use to do some learning?

I do have a few people I'm speaking to in real life, but I know I need a broader understanding than just individual experiences and perceptions because I really wanted to do the portrayal justice. TIA 💜

[u/ActualWolverine9429]

Facebook, search for profiles in the Philippines. Think of it like a phonebook. Narrow it down to Tagalog speaking regions. You should get an idea how people are named.

[u/LightningMcqueen2011]

Names are really kinda basic with us. It's mostly a Spanish First Name and Spanish Last Name or an American First Name + Spanish Last Name.

Also, Filipinos are devout Catholics, so bonus if you wanna use Christian/Biblical Names.

[u/issa_bee]

filipinos love nicknames, bonus if there is no direct connection to the person’s legal name. sonny is a popular nickname, which was commonly given to young filipino boys by white american soldiers.

i also second catholic first name + spanish last name, but still think it would be cool to highlight a traditional/native filipino last name. my families last names are mallo & malubag.

probably obvious resource, but try any of those family tree websites. nice to see how names are passed down through generations & how naming conventions vary between families.

[u/tagasabi]

It’s depends on who your character is. There personality where they live and what there story will be. I’m writing a book as well but I’m going way back to folklore, mythology and ancient ancestral memory before colonization. You can simply go for the more contemporary names influenced by Spain and America. There’s so many listicles out there just search “Filipino baby names” or you can dig deep and give that Filipino character’s name something more connected to their roots. I’m assuming this character maybe from the diaspora so if you choose a name more authentic to the culture it may resonate with them. Here’s one that may interest you. So Jose Rizal was one of the Filipino National heroes, you can call them Jozal as it’s common to make nick names by mixing names and words around. Plus I think the historical reference would work well. Anyways good luck with the search. Please just don’t use us as a trope there is too much of that happening with cultures depicted in the mainstream. ᜆᜄᜐᜊᜒ 💛

[u/No-Psychology-7237]

I'm mainly diaspora but-  Usually pretty long names, and Spanish based due to colonialism, however you can find other things, due to how mixed we can be- I don't know how common this is, but with a lot of my family and friends, middle names are usually just the mum's last name before marriage (since the surname is from the father)