Name

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A name is both of personal as well as public interest that every person must have a name.[1] The State has an interest in the names borne by individuals and entities for purposes of identification.[2] A change of name is a privilege, not a right.[3] Petitions for change of name are controlled by statutes.[4]


Contents

Definition

A person’s name is a word or combination of words by which he is known and identified, and distinguished from others, for the convenience of the world at large in addressing him, or in speaking of or dealing with him.[5]


Name fixed in Civil Register

By Article 408 of the Civil Code, a person’s birth must be entered in the civil register. The official name of a person is that given him in the civil register. That is his name in the eyes of the law. And once the name of a person is officially entered in the civil register, Article 376 of the Civil Code seals that identity with its precise mandate: no person can change his name or surname without judicial authority. This statutory restriction is premised on the interest of the State in names borne by individuals and entities for purposes of identification.[6] See Change of name.


Parts of a name

A name has two parts: (1) the given or proper name and (2) the surname or family name. A name is said to have the following characteristics: (1) It is absolute, intended to protect the individual from being confused with others. (2) It is obligatory in certain respects, for nobody can be without a name. (3) It is fixed, unchangeable, or immutable, at least at the start, and may be changed only for good cause and by judicial proceedings. (4) It is outside the commerce of man, and, therefore, inalienable and intransmissible by act inter vivos or mortis causa. (5) It is imprescriptible.[7]

First name

"First name" refers to a name or nickname given to a person which may consist of one or more names in addition to the middle and last names.[8] The given or proper name is that which is given to the individual at birth or at baptism, to distinguish him from other individuals. The surname or family name is that which identifies the family to which he belongs and is continued from parent to child. Parents are free to select the given name of their child, but the law fixes the surname to which the child is entitled to use.[9]

Surname

Title XIII, Book I of the Civil Code, in Articles 364 to 380, provides the substantive rules which regulate the use of surnames.[10]

Middle name

Middle names, on the other hand, are not regulated by law, although the Filipino custom is to use the mother’s surname as the child’s middle name. Still, you cannot drop or delete your middle name. Middle names serve to identify the maternal lineage or filiation of a person as well as further distinguish him from others who may have the same given name and surname as he has.[11]


Adopted children

Article 365 of the Civil Code mandates that "(a)n adopted child shall bear the surname of the adopter," in correlation with Article 341 on the effects of adoption, among which is to"(e)ntitle the adopted person to use the adopter's surname." This same entitlement of an adopted child is maintained in Article 39(3), Title II of Presidential Decree No. 603, otherwise known as the Child and Youth Welfare Code. More recently, Executive Order No. 209, as amended by Executive Order No. 227, or the Family Code, echoes the same statutory right of an adopted child to use the surname of the adopter. Clearly, from the very wordings of the law, it may be inferred that this use of the surname of the adopter by the adopted child is both an obligation and a right.[12]


Married women

A married woman has the option to use the surname of the husband in any of the ways provided by Article 370 of the Civil Code,[13] to wit: (1) Her maiden first name and surname and add her husband’s surname; or (2) Her maiden first name and her husband's surname; or (3) Her husband’s full name, but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as "Mrs." Article 370 of the Civil Code reads:

ART. 370. A married woman may use:
(1) Her maiden first name and surname and add her husband’s surname, or
(2) Her maiden first name and her husband's surname, or
(3) Her husband’s full name, but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as "Mrs."

The use of the word "may" in Article 370 indicates that the use of the husband’s surname by the wife is permissive rather than obligatory.[14] Clearly, a married woman has an option, but not a duty, to use the surname of the husband in any of the ways provided by Article 370 of the Civil Code. She is therefore allowed to use not only any of the three names provided in Article 370, but also her maiden name upon marriage. She is not prohibited from continuously using her maiden name once she is married because when a woman marries, she does not change her name but only her civil status. Further, this interpretation is in consonance with the principle that surnames indicate descent.[15]

When a woman marries a man, she need not apply and/or seek judicial authority to use her husband’s name by prefixing the word "Mrs." before her husband’s full name or by adding her husband’s surname to her maiden first name. The law grants her such right (Art. 370, Civil Code).[16]

Similarly, when the marriage ties or vinculum no longer exists as in the case of death of the husband or divorce as authorized by the Muslim Code, the widow or divorcee need not seek judicial confirmation of the change in her civil status in order to revert to her maiden name as use of her former husband’s is optional and not obligatory for her.[17]

When petitioner married her husband, she did not change her but only her civil status. Neither was she required to secure judicial authority to use the surname of her husband after the marriage as no law requires it.[18]

Surname of married woman in passport

A married woman may use her maiden name in her passport. She may also adopt her husband’s surname or continuously use her maiden name in the renewal of her passport. However, once a married woman opted to adopt her husband’s surname in her passport, she may not revert to the use of her maiden name, except in certain instances. See discussion in Passport.


Change of Name

Once a person’s name is officially entered in the civil register, it becomes his/her name in the eyes of the law.[19] The name may be changed only under the circumstances provided by law. See Change of name.


References

  1. ↑ Republic vs. Hernandez, G.R. No. 117209, 9 February 1996
  2. ↑ Silverio vs. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. 174689, 22 October 2007, citing Wang v. Cebu City Civil Registrar, G.R. No. 159966, 30 March 2005, 454 SCRA 155
  3. ↑ Silverio vs. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. 174689, 22 October 2007, citing Wang v. Cebu City Civil Registrar, G.R. No. 159966, 30 March 2005, 454 SCRA 155
  4. ↑ Silverio vs. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. 174689, 22 October 2007, citing K v. Health Division, Department of Human Resources, 277 Or. 371, 560 P.2d 1070 (1977)
  5. ↑ Republic vs. Hernandez, G.R. No. 117209, 9 February 1996
  6. ↑ Republic vs. Hernandez, G.R. No. 117209, 9 February 1996
  7. ↑ Republic vs. Court of Appeals, et al., G.R. No. 97906, 21 May 1992
  8. ↑ Republic Act No. 9048, Sec. 2(6)
  9. ↑ Republic vs. Court of Appeals, et al., G.R. No. 97906, 21 May 1992
  10. ↑ Republic vs. Court of Appeals, et al., G.R. No. 97906, 21 May 1992
  11. ↑ Republic vs. Court of Appeals, et al., G.R. No. 97906, 21 May 1992
  12. ↑ Republic vs. Court of Appeals, et al., G.R. No. 97906, 21 May 1992
  13. ↑ Remo vs. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, G.R. No. 169202, 5 March 2010
  14. ↑ Remo vs. Secretary of Foreing Affairs, G.R. No. 169202, 5 March 2010
  15. ↑ Remo vs. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, G.R. No. 169202, 5 March 2010
  16. ↑ Remo vs. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, G.R. No. 169202, 5 March 2010, citing Yasin v. Honorable Judge Shari’a District Court, 311 Phil. 696, 707 (1995). See also Bar Matter No. 1625, In re: Petition to Use Maiden Name in Petition to Take the 2006 Bar Examinations, Josephine P. Uy-Timosa (En Banc Resolution dated 18 July 2006)
  17. ↑ Remo vs. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, G.R. No. 169202, 5 March 2010, citing Yasin v. Honorable Judge Shari’a District Court, 311 Phil. 696, 707 (1995)
  18. ↑ Remo vs. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, G.R. No. 169202, 5 March 2010, citing Yasin v. Honorable Judge Shari’a District Court, 311 Phil. 696, 707 (1995)
  19. ↑ Republic vs. Hernandez, G.R. No. 117209, 9 February 1996
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