What’s in a Name?
By Christopher Joseph B. Aguila, MASE, LPT
The word “name” is from the Greek word “onoma” which is often associated with the word
character or authority. Naming is important to God. He named the first man and woman He created,
they were Adam and Eve. In fact, one of the first tasks given to Adam was that of “naming” living
creatures. We use names to address people or to make a reference. A person’s name is associated with
who he is, what he does, or what he has. The bible says “A good name is rather to be chosen than great
riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold (Proverbs 22:1). It is not only important to have a
name, but also to have a “good name”. The first civilizations called people by name i.e. Adam, Cain,
Noah, Abraham, Abel, and other such names. However, as humanity grows in number and the
population spread around the world, people needed to have “clearer” distinction so that mistaken
identity would be avoided. There can be two or more Eliezer during the time of Abraham, but when he
said “Eliezer of Damascus”, it is clear that he is talking about a particular Eliezer and not an Eliezer from
Haran or from Egypt (Gen. 15:2). As the number of people continue to grow, more distinctions were
used i.e. Ephron the Hittite, Laban the son of Nahor, Simon the Zealot, Simon Barjona, James the son of
Zebedee, and other names which you can read both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. So it
is the purpose of a “name” to make people distinct from one another. Times went by, and as we know it
today, “surnames” were used to make more distinction from one person to another. Every country has
its own history of naming system, but in the Philippines, it started during the Spanish colonization.
Before Filipinos use surnames to make distinctions, they first used the place where they live, or the
name of their father, or a unique physical feature to make distinctions e.g. Kato Tabingdagat, Kato
Ginubatan, Lisa ang anak ni Temo, Linong Duling, Bertong Kulot, and so on and so forth. The Spaniards
had a hard time with that especially in registration and collection of taxes. In 1849, Governor General
Narciso Claveria asked Madrid for a list of surnames to be given to the Filipinos; that list was called
Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos. This was the time when the Filipinos were commanded to take
surnames. Some Filipinos did not adopt Spanish surname, however, many of them did. That is why we
have De la Cruz, Bautista, Villarosa, Villanueva, De Mesa, Diaz, Santiago, and other Spanish sounding
names. Surname then became the basis of every Filipino’s lineage and every family’s heritage. Though it
is not an absolute identifier, it can still give some “distinctions”. People may have received the same
surname when they were located at different locations. It doesn’t necessarily mean that if your surname
is Quezon; then you are a relative to Manuel L. Quezon. It doesn’t mean that if your surname Aguinaldo,
then you are related to President Emilio Aguinaldo. However, a proper descendant of Manuel Quezon
and Emilio Aguinaldo should have Quezon and Aguinaldo in their names respectively. The “Baptist” as a
“name” was formally used during 1600’s in England. Before they were called that name, they were
called Anabaptist by their persecutors which literally mean “re-baptizer”, because that is their
distinction. Throughout the past centuries, they were called by different names; they were called
Christians, Montanists, Novatians, Donatists, Albigensis, Paulicians. Waldenses, Mennonites,
Anabaptists, so on and so forth. If the “name” Baptists was formally used during the 1600’s, then when
did the Baptist as a church really began? Some liberal historians say that Baptist only began during
1600’s in England. If that is the case, it is like saying that Quezon’s and Aginaldo’s ancestors only existed
in 1849. Were Quezon’s ancestors living before 1849? Had Aguinaldo’s ancestors existed before 1849?
They should not live if their ancestors did not. It is like saying their ancestors just exist from nowhere in
1849. No one can ever trace his lineage and name his ancestors back during the pre-historic Philippines,
or during the time of Magellan, or during 300 BC, but FOR SURE we have our ancestors back then. Guess
what? They were called by different names, not yet Marquez, Tarranco, Unada or Malacapay. Baptist is
the name which the Montanists, the Donatists, the Paulicians are called starting 1600’s. They are now
called “the Baptists”. The descendants of Quezon and Aguinaldo are somehow privileged because they
have some heritage passed on to them by their forefathers. However, we can only trace the richness of
their heritage way back Spanish Era. We can only pinpoint “some” important key persons in their
lineage. But as a Baptist, our heritage can be traced through the unbroken chain of faithful martyrs and
contenders back to the first church in Jerusalem. We are not descendants of Quezon nor of Aguinaldo
but we are descendants of Christ, Paul of Tarsus, Timothy, Polycarp, Montanus, Peter Waldo, William
Carey, Charles Spurgeon and many other notable as well as unnamed missionary Christians and Martyrs
who died contending for the “faith” given to us by God. We inherited a rich heritage, the bible, doctrine,
beliefs, principles, practices, Baptist baptism, coated by the blood of the soldiers of Christ throughout
the ages. However, Satan’s warfare of counterfeits hurts our “name”. Is the Baptist name still important
when many churches bearing that name have drifted far from the “old paths” where our forefathers had
walked? Is the Baptist name still important when many churches bearing that name have resto bars,
rock concerts, homosexuality, and such heresies and apostasies in their churches? If there are 10, 000
criminals whose surnames are Quezon and Aguinaldo, should the descendants of Manuel Quezon and
Emilio Aguinaldo change their surname? There are lots of Quezons and Aguinaldos throughout the
archipelago, but for sure there is only one clan they left which received their legacy and heritage. There
is a lineage of churches which the heritage of the Lord’s Church is passed from a generation to the other.
The doctrine, the beliefs, the principles and the practices was passed to the New Testament, Bible
believing, KJV only, local, real conservative, Baptist churches. No matter how Satan destroys our
“name”, it is still our heritage, our distinction. And the last time we checked, the Lord’s people and the
Lord’s churches are called Baptists TODAY.