Edinburgh and Tettywangsa are Lawyers Now: Names from the 1998 Bar Examinations
Of the 3,697 who completed the Philippine bar exams in 1998, 1,465 (39.63%) passed.
Excluding the eight people whose sex I failed to determine from a quick search of social media or news articles, the passers included 910 men and 547 women.
The Women
Among the women, 333 (60.88%) had only one given name, 193 (35.28%) had two, and 21 (3.84%) had three.
First Given Names
The most popular initials for the first given name are M (165, 30.16%), J (47, 8.59%), A (44, 8.04%), R (43, 7.86%), and G (33, 6.03%). No one had a first given name that started with Q, W, or X.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 64 | Ma. |
| 33 | Maria |
| 15 | Mary |
| 7 | Grace, Jocelyn |
| 6 | Anna, Janet, Rowena |
| 5 | Jennifer |
| 4 | Fe, Marie |
| 3 | Angela, Caroline, Diana, Gina, Gloria, Hazel, Irene, Lalaine, Marietta, Marissa, Michelle, Minerva, Pamela, Rachel, Rosalie, Ruby, Victoria |
| 2 | Alma, Ana, Angelica, Angelina, Arlene, Carmencita, Claire, Cristina, Daisy, Delia, Edna, Elenita, Emilia, Evangeline, Flordeliza, Genalyn, Geraldine, Girlie, Glenda, Golda, Herminia, Imelda, Ivy, Jasmin, Jessica, Josephine, Judy, Liza, Luz, Luzviminda, Margarita, Myra, Nenita, Norma, Perla, Rebecca, Riza, Rosalinda, Sarah, Teresita, Venus, Zarah, Zenaida |
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 97 | Ma. (Maria) |
| 15 | Mary |
| 8 | Anna (Ana), Jocelyn (Josielyn) |
| 7 | Grace |
| 6 | Janet, Rowena |
| 5 | Jennifer |
| 4 | Fe, Marie, Marissa (Marisa), Michelle (Michele), Rachel (Rachelle), Sarah (Zarah) |
| 3 | Angela, Caroline, Cristina (Christina), Diana, Gina, Gloria, Hazel, Irene, Lalaine, Marietta, Minerva, Pamela, Rosalie, Ruby, Victoria |
| 2 | Alma, Annabelle (Anabelle), Angelica, Angelina, Arlene, Carmencita, Claire, Cherry (Cherrie), Daisy, Delia, Edna, Elenita, Emilia, Evangeline, Flordeliza, Genalyn, Geraldine, Girlie, Glenda, Golda, Herminia, Imelda, Ivy, Jasmin, Jessica, Josephine, Judy, Kristine (Kristin), Leilani (Leilanie), Liezel (Lizelle), Liza, Luz, Luzviminda, Margarita, Myla (Maila), Myra, Nenita, Nimfa (Nympha), Norma, Perla, Raquel (Racquel), Rebecca, Riza, Rosalinda, Teresita, Venus, Zenaida |
Second Given Names
The most popular initials for the second given name are A and L (both 26, 12.15%), followed by C (22, 10.28%), J (21, 9.81%), and R (18, 8.41%). No one had a second given name that started with O, Q, U, W, X, or Y.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 8 | Victoria |
| 6 | Ann |
| 5 | Grace |
| 4 | Jane |
| 3 | Anne, Cecilia, Joy, Luz, Maria, Regina, Rosario, Teresa, Theresa |
| 2 | Angelica, Angelita, Christina, Cristina, Dolores, Elena, Estela, Faith, Hazel, Gracia, Joan, Lea, Leah, Lisa, Lourdes, Luisa, Lyn, Lynn, Marie, Mercedes, Rowena, Ruth, Susan, Vanessa |
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 9 | Ann (Anne) |
| 8 | Victoria |
| 6 | Teresa (Theresa) |
| 5 | Christina (Cristina, Kristina), Grace |
| 4 | Jane, Lea (Leah), Lyn (Lynn), Maria (Ma.) |
| 3 | Cecilia, Joy, Luz, Regina, Rosario |
| 2 | Aileen (Ailine), Angelica, Angelita, Christine (Khristine), Dolores, Elena, Estela, Emily (Emilie), Faith, Gracia, Hazel, Joan, Lisa, Lourdes, Luisa, Marie, Mercedes, Rowena, Ruth, Susan, Vanessa |
Third Given Names
The third given names in the sample are Abigail, Adelaida, Angela (2x), Antonina, Barbara, Carmen, Cristina, Eleanor, Emily, Fe, Felipa, Flor, Josephine, Gabriela, Isabel, Lesle, Luisa, Lynnie, Paz, and Rhodora.
Standouts
| Name | Thoughts |
|---|---|
| Citadel | Merriam-Webster defines a citadel as "a fortress that commands a city." I love the idea that her parents were thinking of castles, but the meaning could be a coincidence and the name could be a product of combining "Cita" and "-del," both of which appear in other names. What if her mother was Carmencita and her father was Fidel? |
| Fetlework | The Fetleworks who come up in my searches are Ethiopian. One of them became Minister of Trade and Industry in 2018–far too late to be a namesake of this Fetlework who passed the 1998 bar. |
| Graal | Wiktionary lists graal as an obsolete form of "grail." Assuming that Citadel's parents named their daughter after the castle, and Graal's parents were thinking of Jesus' cup at the Last Supper, then perhaps they could bond over a shared love of the King Arthur universe. |
| Kabaitan | Move over, Faith, Hope, and Charity! ¡Apártate, Fe, Esperanza y Caridad! The Tagalog word kabaitan (from the root word bait) can be translated to English as "kindness," "friendliness," or "affability." It's even better when you combine it with her surname (now her maiden name), which means "relief." |
| Reagan | Yes, there are American girls and women named Reagan, but I was surprised to see this on a Filipina who was born in 1972 at the latest. To begin with, the American surname-as-first-name trend isn't really as much of a thing here. Also, the man himself wasn't president yet–he was governor of California–from '67 to '75. Would our local news have broadcast that? Were his movies and TV shows broadcast here? And finally, I'm sure that the average Filipino would be more likely to give a US president's name to a son than to a daughter. At least this one was ahead of the curve. |
| Semiramis Bituin | Semiramis was a legendary Assyrian queen, inspired by a real figure named Sammu-ramat. The Tagalog word bituin means "star." |
| Tettywangsa | Titiwangsa can refer to this mountain range (called Sankalakhiri in Thailand) or this suburb of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The latter is home to this park. |
The Men
Among the men, 718 (78.90%) had only one given name, 180 (19.78%) had two, 11 (1.21%) had three, and one (0.11%) had four.
First Given Names
The most popular initials for the first given name are R (142, 15.60%), J (126, 13.85%), A (92, 10.11%), E (75, 8.24%), and M (72, 7.91%). No one had a first given name that started with X or Y.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 17 | Jose |
| 12 | Michael |
| 11 | Dennis |
| 10 | Joel, Joseph, Ronald |
| 9 | John, Jonathan |
| 8 | Edwin, Ferdinand, Noel, Ramon |
| 7 | Antonio, Juan, Vicente |
| 6 | Dante, Eduardo, Emmanuel, Melvin, Peter, Renato |
| 5 | Alan, Bernardo, Elmer, Fernando, James, Julius, Leo, Mario, Neil, Roberto, Rommel |
| 4 | Allan, Arnold, Arturo, Christian, Danilo, Edgar, Gilbert, Jerry, Jesus, Joselito, Miguel, Oliver, Paul, Philip, Rafael, Ramil, Raymond, Robert, Rodolfo, Rodrigo, Rolando |
| 3 | Albert, Aldrin, Alexander, Angelito, Benigno, Benjamin, Bernard, Carlos, Cesar, Daniel, Eric, Eugene, Frederick, George, Gerardo, Glenn, Ian, Jeffrey, Jerome, Kenneth, Leonardo, Luis, Manuel, Mariano, Marlon, Rey, Roland, Victor, Voltaire |
| 2 | Alberto, Alejandro, Alex, Alfonso, Arnel, Arnulfo, Bernardino, Bill, Carlo, Conrado, Crispin, Cyril, David, Ed, Eddie, Edgardo, Edsel, Efren, Enrico, Enrique, Engelbert, Erwin, Felix, Francis, Froilan, Gabino, Gary, Gregorio, Henry, Hernan, Honorato, Jaime, Jasper, Job, Jorge, Juanito, Leandro, Leoncio, Lorenzo, Malic, Mark, Martin, Marvin, Nelson, Norberto, Omar, Oscar, Osmundo, Pablo, Paulo, Perfecto, Pio, Randy, Raymund, Raymundo, Regidor, Renante, Rene, Rex, Reynaldo, Reynante, Ricardo, Richard, Roger, Roldan, Romeo, Roy, Sergio, Thomas, Virgilio, Wilfredo |
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 17 | Jose |
| 12 | Michael |
| 11 | Dennis, Joseph (Josef) |
| 10 | Joel, John (Jon), Ronald |
| 9 | Alan (Allan), Jonathan |
| 8 | Edwin, Ferdinand, Noel, Ramon |
| 7 | Antonio, Juan, Vicente |
| 6 | Dante, Eduardo, Emmanuel, Melvin, Peter, Raymond (Raymund), Renato, Rommel (Romell) |
| 5 | Bernardo, Elmer, Fernando, James, Julius, Leo, Mario, Neil, Roberto |
| 4 | Arnold, Arturo, Christian, Danilo, Edgar, Eric (Erick), Gilbert, Jerry, Jesus, Joselito, Miguel, Oliver, Paul, Philip, Rafael, Ramil, Robert, Rodolfo, Rodrigo, Rolando |
| 3 | Albert, Aldrin, Alexander, Angelito, Benigno, Benjamin, Bernard, Carlos, Cesar, Daniel, Erwin (Irwin), Eugene, Frederick, George, Gerardo, Glenn, Jeffrey, Jerome, Kenneth, Leonardo, Luis, Manuel, Mariano, Mark (Marc), Marlon, Rey, Roland, Victor, Voltaire |
| 2 | Alberto, Alejandro, Alex, Alfonso, Arnel, Arnulfo, Bernardino, Bill, Carlo, Cipriano (Cepriano), Conrado, Crispin, Cyril, David, Ed, Eddie, Edgardo, Edmund (Edmond), Edsel, Efren, Enrico, Enrique, Engelbert, Felix, Francis, Froilan, Gabino, Gary, Gregorio, Henry, Hernan, Honorato, Hermenegildo (Herminigildo), Ian, Jaime, Jasper, Job, Jorge, Juanito, Leandro, Leoncio, Lorenzo, Malic, Martin, Marvin, Nelson, Norberto, Omar, Oscar, Osmundo, Pablo, Paulo, Perfecto, Pio, Randy, Raymundo, Regidor, Renante, Rene, Rex, Reynaldo, Reynante, Ricardo, Richard, Roderick (Rhoderick), Roger, Roldan, Romeo, Roy, Ruel (Roehl), Russell (Rassel), Sergio, Stanley (Stanlee), Thomas, Vincent (Vencent), Virgilio, Wendell (Windell), Wilfredo |
Second Given Names
The most popular initials for the second given name are A (37, 19.27%), R (23, 11.98%), J (21, 10.94%), M (20, 10.42%), and E (11, 5.73%). No one had a second given name that started with Q, U, X, or Z.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 8 | Antonio |
| 7 | Anthony |
| 5 | Jose, Paul |
| 4 | Angelo, Mari |
| 3 | Andrew, Carlos, Michael, Rey |
| 2 | Ambrosio, Domingo, Edwin, Emmanuel, Eulalio, Francis, James, John, Martin, Marvin, Oliver, Robert, Roberto |
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 8 | Antonio |
| 7 | Anthony |
| 5 | Jose, Paul |
| 4 | Angelo, Mari, Rey (Ray) |
| 3 | Andrew, Carlos, Michael, John (Jon) |
| 2 | Ambrosio, Domingo, Edwin, Emmanuel, Eulalio, Francis, James, Maria (Ma.), Mark (Marc), Martin, Marvin, Oliver, Robert, Roberto, Rory (Rorie) |
Third Given Names
The third given names in the sample are Andrew, Benjamin, Cris, Elijah, Jaime, James, Jude, Laurence, Marie (2x), Martin, and Nicasio.
Standouts
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| Añonuevo | Does he have a twin sister named Feliz? |
| Bernoulli | Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782) was a Swiss mathematician who lent his name to a theorem. He succeeded his father and uncle, both of whom pursued mathematics against the wishes of their father, a pharmacist. There's also a lunar crater named Bernoulli. |
| Edinburgh | Move over, Paris and London! The actual city's pronounced like this, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's not how the guy says it. One thing's for sure: the parents saw it in print. |
| Pretty | Yes, I put this name in the right table. I checked. |
| Rejoice | "Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great..." |
| Septon | Definitely not a Game of Thrones reference. |
| Verminn | The parents probably wanted to name him Fermin but decided to shake up the spelling a bit. At any rate, that second n is doing a lot of heavy lifting. |
Numerical Suffixes
One hundred and forty men (15.38%) had numerical suffixes attached to their names. Of these, 110 (78.57%) were Jr, 13 (9.29%) were II, and 12 (8.57%) were III. The suffixes Sr, IV, V, and VI had one (0.71%) bearer each.