Rizal

The origin of the surname Rizal

Rizal, adopted by national hero José Rizal’s family, comes from the Spanish ricial, “green field.”

What kind of surname is Rizal?

As a toponymic (locational) surname, the surname Rizal originally described where its bearer lived or came from — a village, region, landscape feature or landmark. When people moved from one place to another, neighbours often identified the newcomer by their place of origin, and that association became a lasting family name. Some toponymic surnames name a specific town or county; others describe the local terrain, such as a hill, wood, field, ford or bridge beside which a family lived. These names are a kind of map of migration and settlement, recording where earlier generations put down roots.

How Filipino surnames work

Filipino surnames are predominantly Spanish, but not because most families are of Spanish descent: in 1849 a colonial decree (the Catálogo alfabético de apellidos) assigned Spanish surnames to Filipino families to systematise records. Alongside these are indigenous names, Chinese-derived surnames and names of other origins, making the Filipino surname landscape a layered record of the islands' history.