CHamoru/Chamorro Surnames
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A relatively recent development
Traditionally, CHamorus didn’t have surnames. Each person was known by a first name and was probably referred to also according to his clan name. When the Spanish missionaries baptized someone, he or she was christened with a name of a saint. Whatever that person’s first name was became his surname. This explains why there is no continuity of surnames even within the same nuclear family.
The three earliest censuses of the Mariana Islands were in 1710, 1727, and 1759. These documents, called the “Archivo General de Indias,” were obtained by the Micronesian Area Research Center at the University of Guam. The original documents are located in Sevilla, Spain.
Both the 1727 Census and 1759 Census record the earliest traditional CHamoru surnames in the Mariana Islands. A list of surnames in these documents, many of which are the forerunners of modern CHamoru surnames, follows. The spellings may have some discrepancies because there was no official orthography for the CHamoru language when this was written in 1984.
These surnames with their approximate definitions are:
| Name | Definition | Name | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ge’hilu’ | Further up | Tainahung | Never satisfied or enough |
| Guailayi | To have reason for | Gaulafna | His or her full moon |
| Masangan | To be said or spoken off | Talina | His or her rope |
| Sagua’na | His or her channel | Nilemlim | Surprised or astonished |
| Goftalu’ | Exactly in the middle or center | Tai’igi | No comparison |
| Ega’ga’ | To urge to act upon | Tasina | His or sea or ocean |
| Mamaisa | To be alone | Taikanu | To have nothing to eat |
| Taisagui | No holding or not attached | Atdauna | His or her light or sunlight |
| Na’lahu | To cause to walk | Manpagat | To be admonished or advised |
| Chattungu | Little knowledge of | Ma’i’ut | Narrow opening |
| Maktus | To split or cut off | Mafa’ta | To be presented before |
| Goflachi | Extremely at fault or incredibly wrong | Manaitai | To be read or to pray |
| Ke’gacha | To try to step on | Tatmaulik | Not too good |
| Ke’na’an | To try to reach into | Ke’poksai | To try to rear or raise |
| Taga’na | His or her split | Mehgai | A lot off or bountiful |
| Ke’taka | To try to reach into | Taichigu | No juice or liquid |
| Na’yauyau | To shake or to cause to quiver | Inayik | The chosen one |
| Sumaina | His or her soak or place of soaking | Ke’tahgui | To substitute for |
| Tano’na | His or her land | Mafak | Cracked or fragmented |
| Taimanglu | No wind | Apu | Ash |
| Tai’asi’ | No pity or lacking warmth for | Chata’an | Not clear day or sensitive |
| Samai | Beautiful | Ke’kanu | To try to eat |
| Ke’fana | To try to face or to confront | Fahalang | To try to cause lonliness |
| Gogui | To safe or to secure | Mafa’tahgul | To disregard someone’s presence |
| Baubau | Shaky or quivering | Achaigua | Similar to |
| Masga | Had enough off or satiated | Napuna | His or her wave |
| Asonna | His or her resting area | Taifa’gas | No place for cleansing |
| Matuna | Blessed | Taifinu | No words or remarks for |
| Tatlumahi | Not manly | Tai’iyu | No possession of |
| Chatsaga | Not in place or with little economic wealth | Maulekna | It is better |
| Ke’ta’lu | To try again | Taifalak | No direction or no destination |
| Taisungsung | No plugger or without a stopper | Taigachung | No comparison or friendship |
| Taiguaha | Without possession | Samailhi | The beautiful male |
| Fa’tangis | To create or make like tears | Tatmahalang | Little longing for |
| Na’ayau | To lend | Taigualu | No farmfield |
| Masa | Cooked | Fa’chalik | To ridicule or make fun of |
| Taimagung | No cure | Matangsi | To weep for |
| Lagua | Net | Mataya | To be without |
| Hanum | Water | Ke’tugua | To cause to fall |
| Taisahyan | No transportation | Gofsaina | To be paternalistic or materialistic |
| Tatpa’gu | Little beauty | Ma’asi | To have pity for |
| Taina’an | No name or reference | Taisakan | No harvest of not of age |
US Naval period
There are a number of traditional CHamoru surnames that have survived today. Most have been recorded and defined by Laura Thompson, an American anthropologist who visited Guam before World War II. She was assisted by Gertrude Costenoble Hornbostel, a German who migrated to the Mariana Islands during the German administration along with her husband, Hans Hornbostel. Gertrude, who was commonly called “Trudis Aleman” by the CHamorus, spoke CHamoru fluently.
The following traditional CHamoru surnames appear in Thompson and Hornbostel’s works. Some of the surnames with their traditional orthography are:
| Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Afaisen | To ask each other |
| Charguilla (Chatguiya) | Not physically well |
| Charguane (Chatguani) | Excretion not removed |
| Atao (Atau) | To give each other |
| Gumataotao (Guma’tautau) | House of people |
| Hokog (Hokuk) | No more, empty, completed |
| Mata | Eye |
| Manajane (Manai’ani) | No day, no spirit |
| Maanao (Ma’anau) | Frighten |
| Quinene (Kineni’) | To be taken away or from |
| Quichocho (Ke’cho’cho’) | To remove from a hiding place, associated with fishing |
| Taifino (Taifinu’) | Lacking expression or words for |
| Taijito (Taihitu) | No lice |
It is interesting to note that all the traditional CHamoru surnames are either action or descriptive words. Names of fishes or plants are not associated with individuals.
Note from the author
This entry was originally written for the “La Sangri Yama” series. I am especially proud of my work entitled the “Taitano Families of the Marianas Islands.” Taitano is the only surname in my bloodline that is a CHamoru word. It is also a distinguished CHamoru family group with a rich oral history.
The surname, Taitano, is a compound word. The morphological structure is “tai” which means “non” or “no.” “Tanu” means “land” or “earth.” In literal translation, Taitano, denotes “The landless.” This surname appears in the early historical documents and was originally spelled “Taytano.”
The spelling of most surnames in the Mariana Islands was changed according to the historical documents, especially during the early American Naval Administration of Guam in 1898.
By Anthony “Malia” Ramirez
Editor’s note: Originally published in the “Freedom to Be”: 40th Anniversary of the Liberation of Guam, 1984.