Earlier today I was updating the Facebook account of my women’s group. Since I don’t have all of our members’ email addresses (b/w some of them doesn’t actually exist in the digital world), I was cutting and pasting their names individually from MS word to Search icon. It was really a tedious job considering the number of times I had to cut-and-paste, only to find out most of their names were too common.
I remember Rex Navarette, a stand up comedian, saying Filipinos are unique. Their physical appearance — curly haired, button nosed, fair-skinned, chinky-eyed — don’t match with their Spanish names and surnames. Exactly the dilemma I had when I was searching for people I don’t personally know. I tried searching for a Margarita Lopez and five different Spanish-looking women appeared on the search page!
Frustrated, I checked on my name and I was surprised, more than a hundred women have the same first and last name like mine.
My discovery caused me to fret a bit. Cases of mistaken identity are somewhat typical these days. Say for instance the story of a newly hired OFW in Qatar, Jason Aguilar, who was mistaken as the prime suspect in the murder of Renato Ebarle, Jr. While the original suspect, Jason Aguilar Ivler was in hiding, the other Jason was being deported and detained. I believe it was a scary experience.
I would rather have a funny-sounding, yet unique first and last name than a very common one. In fact, I appreciate having indigenous Filipino surnames like Catacutan, Catangcatang, Dayukdok, Dimaculangan, etc. than the Spanish-sounding ones. For public records’ purposes, having a unique name will surely make one accountable for what he does and no other person with a similar name will gain/lose in any given circumstances.
Names symbolize individual identities. Our names should be as unique as our finger prints. As such, parents should study their choices carefully before naming their children.
