The people of the Philippines are called Filipinos. Why not Philippinos? | Notes and Queries (2024)

The people of the Philippines are called Filipinos. Why not Philippinos?

• The reason probably has something to do with the origin of the term Filipino. Whereas the islands have had the Spanish name Islas Filipinas ever since the 1540s, and this was obviously anglicized to Philippine Islands at an early date, the term Filipino was not used to describe the inhabitants until quite recently. It was first used for themselves in the 1880s by the urbanized rich of Spanish descent who were born in the islands ("principales") and the "creoles", who had less status than those born in Spain ("Peninsulares"). The indigenous inhabitants were termed "Indios" by the colonial elite. Filipino nationalism grew originally amongst the "ilustrados", "principales" and "creoles". Only with some reluctance, and largely as a result of the activities of working-class nationalists such as Andres Bonifacio in the 1890s, were the "Indios" included in the nationalist movement, and by the time of the insurrection of 1898 the term Filipino had come to be applied to all the inhabitants of the islands. The term would have become current in English through the Americans, who betrayed the Filipino revolution of 1898 and established their own colonial rule, but co-opted the 'Filipino' elite into the colonial system, promoting it through a policy of 'Filipinization'.

  Philip Bowler, Abu Dhabi, UAE

• The name of the islands goes back to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, and hence there was time for the anglicisation of the spelling. The term 'Filipino' only goes back to the late 19th century, and the original spelling was perhaps kept because of its political connotation.

  Philip Bowler, Abu Dhabi, UAE