MALIRE

What originally spurred this project were questions surrounding my own name - Malire (pronounced like Mallory). This name was the invention of my parents, both immigrants form the Philippines, and is a combination of all the first syllables of all the major women in my life:

Ma for my mother’s name May

Li for Lilia, my maternal grandmother’s name

Re for Resurrección my paternal grandmother’s name

While I am long past elementary school days where I would shyly correct my teacher during roll call for whatever permutation they had devised, I began to think deeper about the role my name played in my shaping my identity. A name is simultaneously one of the most personal thing about a person, and one of the most public. What did my name say about me?

My name, while spelled unconventionally, is not all that uncommon in Western society. I have found this to be a trend amongst many other Filipino names. They are unique enough to establish individuality, but still have a sense of familiarity among Western society.

This trend towards "uniqueness" is not accidental. It stems from the combination of both Spanish and American colonialism.

Spanish colonists forced Filipino natives to take on Spanish last names in order to better control and keep track of their colonial subjects. This, however, has led to a small pool of Spanish last names among Filipinos. With little variation amongst last names, and the Philippines' poor bureaucracy making it difficult for government bodies to differentiate between people of with the same first and last names, Filipinos turned towards choosing unique first names.

Directly after the end of the Spanish colonial rule, the Philippines became the first US colony, which would lead to the close ties between the Philippines and the US that still exist today.

The United States is the number one choice for Filipinos seeking to work abroad. Even those who stay behind in the Philippines are constantly inundated with American media and cultural influences. The language of instruction in all schools in the Philippines is English and the United States has a strong military presences in the country, with 5 military bases on the island nation.

This relationship between the Philippines and the United States goes both ways. Filipinos who are able to migrate to the United States, show high levels of acculturation

My parents are not people of many words. When I asked them the process of choosing my name and what influenced their decision, it was as simple as my mom came up with the name, my dad liked the name, they chose it.

It seemed that the process of immigration into the United States was difficult, but not that much difficult more than when someone moves from one state to another.

When asked about whether or not it was difficult getting used to life in the United States my mom said that "My friends Jemar and Debbie were already here. It was hard because we didn't know the place, but we had fun together."