Spain claimed the archipelago as a colony in the 16th century under King Philip II. The name was coined by the Spanish conquistador Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, who sailed from Mexico in 1542 in hopes of reaching the Philippines but never made it there.
The Republic of the Philippines (Republika ng Pilipinas) is its formal name. Philippines (Pilipinas) is the short form. Term for Citizen(s): Filipino (s). Symbolizing the Philippines with Juan dela Cruz is not a Filipino invention. The term was invented by Robert McCulloch-Dick, a Scottish-born journalist working for the Manila Times in the early 1900s. Read more detail here https://emperornote.com
However, the Philippines’ official name has changed throughout its history. During the Philippine Revolution, the Philippines was officially called the Philippine Republic or Rep. During the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War, United States colonial authorities referred to the Philippines as the Philippine Islands. In the American period, the name Philippines first appeared, which later became its official name.
Name in other languages
In spite of the fact that the country’s government uses the name Philippines for international and domestic business, a number of major languages still use their own translations or transliterations of the name Philippines.
| Language | Name |
| Albanian | Filipinet |
| Arabic | الفلبين Transliteration: Āl-filibiyīn |
| Bulgarian | Филипини Transliteration: Filipini |
| Catalan | Filipines |
| Chinese | 菲律宾 Pinyin Transliteration: Fēilǜbīn |
| Croatian | Filipini |
| Czech | Filipíny |
| Danish | Filippinerne |
| Dutch | Filipijnen |
| English | Philippines |
| Estonian | Filipiinid |
| Filipino | Pilipinas |
| Finnish | Filippiinit |
| French | Les îles Philippines |
| German | Philippinen |
| Greek | Φιλιππίνες Transliteration: Philippines Φιλιππίναι Transliteration: Philippinai |
| Hebrew | פיליפינים Transliteration: Filipinim |
| Hindi | फिलिपीन्स Transliteration: Philipīns or philipiins |
| Hungarian | Fülöp-szigetek |
| Indonesian | Negeri Pilipina |
| Icelandic | Filippseyjar |
| Italian | Filippine |
| Irish | Na hOileáin Fhilipíneacha |
| Japanese | フィリピン Transliteration: Firipin |
| Korean | 필리핀 Translation: Pillipin |
| Latin | Philippinae |
| Latvian | Filipīnas |
| Lithuanian | Filipinai |
| Malay | Filipina |
| Norwegian | Filippinene |
| Polish | Filipiny |
| Portuguese | as ilhas Filipinas |
| Romanian | Filipine |
| Russian | Филиппины Transliteration: Filipinɨ |
| Spanish | las islas Filipinas |
| Swedish | Filippinerna |
| Tamil | பிலிப்பீன்ஸ் Transliteration:Pilippeens |
| Thai | ฟิลิปปินส์ Transliteration: Filippin |
| Turkish | Filipinler |
| Ukrainian | Філіпіни Transliteration: Filipiniy |
| Vietnamese | Philippin nước Phi luật tân |
Former names of the Philippines
- Dynasty of the Sung. Around 972 AD, the government traded silk and porcelain crafts with a place in the south of China called Ma-i.
- Chinese annals. A specific group of islands named Ma-i or Ma-yi was found in southern China according to the Chinese Annals of the Ming Dynasty (circa 14th century). The Spaniards identified the island group as Mindoro. Later historians, however, claimed that Ma-i was not an island but the entire city of Manila,[6], which was known to have been in contact with Chinese traders as early as the ninth century.
- Liu-sung. By rhyme, it refers to the island of Luzon.
- It can also be pronounced Palao-yu, Palao-yi.The island of Palawan is referenced by rhyme.
- Lin-yin-tung. By rhyme, it refers to Lingayen Gulf in Lingayen, Pangasinan.
- Ma-i or Ma-yi. The Mindoro island group[7] or the Kingdom of Tondo in Manila.
- Maniolas. Claudius Ptolemy used it in 150 AD for the group of islands south of China in the Far East.
- According to José Rizal, Maniolas referred to the city of Manila. Ptolemy called, instead the whole Philippines as Tawalisi. On the other hand, Baroussai was the name used by Ptolemy when referring to Visayas region. A sailor named Hippalus told Rizal about “beautiful islands” in southeastern Far East that were recorded on Ptolemy’s maps.
- Las islas de San Lázaro (St. Lazarus‘ Islands). Named by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. He reached the islands of Homonhon in Samar (now present-day Eastern Samar) at the feast of St. Lazarus.
- Las islas de Poniente (Islands to the West). Ferdinand Magellan named the area in 1521 when he learned that Cebu and Leyte were also included in the region. Magellan was not the one who renamed the area, according to various sources, but rather his chroniclers.
- During the Portuguese era, the whole island of Luzon was referred to as ilhas Luç*es.
- Mindanao, on the other hand, was formerly called as ilhas de Liquíos Celebes, or “Islands to the south of Celebes.
- Islands belonging to Philip (Philippine Islands). Ruy Lopez de Villalobos named Samar and Leyte in honor of Philip II of Spain in 1565.
- The Philippine Islands, or simply the Philippines (Philippines). The name Las Islas Felipenas is irrevocably associated with the vernacular piracy of the islands.
- The Philippine Islands. Although the name was very similar to the old Spanish name Las Islas Filipinas, the anglicized version of the Spanish name was used during American colonial rule and under the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
Intentions to rename the country
- Tagalog Nation, Haring Bayang Katagalugan. The name given by Andres Bonifacio to the Filipino nation, intended to be governed by the Republika ng Katagalugan (Tagalog Republic). The same name was used by Macario Sakay’s 1902-1906 government.
- Kapatiran (the Brotherhood), or its semi-equivalent Katipunan (the Assembly of Brothers).
- Luzviminda. Combination of the first syllables of the country’s major island groups: Luzon , Visayas , and Minda Nao.
- Maharlika. Among pre-hispanic Filipinos, maharlika was a term used to describe the upper classes. In 1978, former President Ferdinand Marcos supported a bill changing the country’s name to Maharlika.
- The name Rizalia. It was named after national hero José Rizal, in comparison to Bolivia, which was named after his hero (Simón Bolivar).
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