SEARCH FOR IDENTITY: THE NAME PETER PHILIP M.

PEREZ
DISCUSSED
The name Peter Philip is a combination of common names
which is somewhat familiar taken individually. Thus, I can say
that I was named due to the popularity (ourbabynamer.com;
Popularity of the name Peter: youtube.com) of such names along
with other factors which have affected the process of naming me
such as the names of my grandfathers on both mother and father
side. Pedro a Spanish counterpart of my name, is possessed by
my grandfather on my mother side, while, Felipe another
Spanish name is on my fathers side. For sometimes, I felt that
I have been named out of limitation obviously perceived during
those times; that names should be biblical and have a strong
coherence to the Catholic faith. However, I manage to escape
that perception as time goes by as the process of acceptance and
learning are continuously affects my person. For instance,
acceptance is inevitable knowing that the name peter came from
the Ecclesiastic Late Latin Petrus and the Greek Petros, names
derived from petra (a rock) and petros (a stone)
(babynamewizard.com); the name connotes harness and/or firmness
which I happen to possess in some aspects, this is indeed a name
worth upholding.
Before the advent of my birthdate, my parents have already
decided on what name they are going to give me. As mentioned in
the above paragraph I will be called by the names of my
grandparents; Peter Philip if I will become a boy and Lois
Felicity if I will become a girl and indeed it really came to
pass. However, unintentionally for I have never created a
nickname for myself; some people call me Pete or now more
frequently Petz for the plain reason that it sounds like that
of my first name. Pete happens to be the most frequent alias
uttered to call my attention during my elementary years, more
particularly during my stay in Legarda Elementary School in
Manila (third grading of grade four and onwards); the same
(Pete) is the mostly used pseudonym used by other people to
interact with me during my high school days. And with the advent
of what I call Filipino slang Petz instead of Pete is more
frequently used by people I encounter every day. Having a
nickname, although sometimes irritating for reason of status quo
of being a teacher is good and reaps goodwill among my fellows;
it gives me a feeling of being welcome [ a feeling that I will
not get when they call me Peter Philip] to their groups and
their lives. Another is that, it spares me from the formality of
my profession for some time and lets me act as normal person
knowing they are accepting me as one of them and not the
authority figure I happen to be when I am in school and doing my
job. Although, with the present status I have, there are times
in which I tend limit or give boundaries to the use of my
nickname through ways such as limiting my acquaintances to some
people who has the potential to overindulge in the use thereof
and by being too close.
People having the name Peter are in general originating
from Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, New
Zealand, Nigeria, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Kingdom, United
States of America (themeaningofthename.com). The name Peter,
being abundant in many literatures both in written form and
electronic forms; is a very popular name for males/boys
(ourbabynamer.com)especially in countries likeHungary and
Ireland where it ranks 8 and 85 respectively(behindthename.com;
babynamewzard.com); however, the popularity shows a downward
slope in the United States of America since 1800s to 2012 by
more than 50% (babynamewizard.com; Angela Dawn, 2012).
However,the said namehas not been as popular in terms of use as
a name for a girl (babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com); thus, the
use of the name for females is declining as time passes by as
data states (thinkbabynames.com; ourbabynamer.com), this is the
trend even though the real gender of which is feminine
(babycenter.com) in fact, Petra being the etymological origin
of the name under consideration (as mentioned above) has a
feminine gender (Angela Dawn, 2012; Karl Keating, 2004).
Nowadays however, the name Peter is a well establish name for a
boy (sheknows.com), and the names Peta, Petara, Petra and
Petronel has been used as of today a female counterpart thereof.
The popularity of the name although said to be declining
can also be attributed to the presence of well-known individuals
who bears it throughout history. It is a common knowledge that
the name is borne in the Bible by one of the Twelve Apostles of
Christ. Peter also known as Cephas is considered to be the first
pope and cofounder of the Christian Church with Paul
(babynamewizard.com). Having been named after a great person
such as the first Pope is indeed a great honor for me, although
sometimes, it gives me a pressure of living the undying schema
of the name of Peter the apostle; this is the characteristics
such as impulsive and had strong faith (thinkbabynames.com)
which happens to be deviant in my character of having a tipsy
turvy faith. There are other historical personalities bearing
my name such as Peter the Great; he is a Tsar of Russia and have
reigned from 1682 to 1725, and as a young man [then], he
travelled to Europe in 169798 to study new developments in
technology, especially shipbuilding. He lived in Deptford, at
the home of the writer John Evelyn, for much of his four-month
stay in England (rmg.co.uk). Here, as the name implies, I am
constantly getting a feeling of greatness for I have been named
to a very important political magnate in the past. Another
historical person worth mentioning who also bears my name is
Peter Peregrinus who has been credited for the first
attempt to separate fact from superstition in 1269 about the
science of magnetism which is not that well established in that
time; this, has personal or emotional effect on my person
knowing that I majored in science and a prior scientist has the
same name as I am. Thus, it pleases me greatly knowing that the
names which I happen to possess have been used by people such as
Peregrinus who showed not only potential but also dynamism on
important fields such as science and technology. Aside from
what have been mentioned above, it seems that my mane is indeed
very abound in this world; documents and literatures has it
that famous real-life people named Peter numerous since time and
memorial. Among the Peters worth mentioning are Peter Yarrow
from Peter, Paul & Mary (peterpaulandmary.com) , also; Peter
Ustinov and Peter Fonda who are both actors, Peter Cetera a
renowned singer, Peter Paul Rubens on the field of arts; he is a
Flemish baroque painter, Peter O'Toole, Anglo-Irish actor who
is also known as the "Lawrence of Arabia", Peter Doherty a Nobel
laureate, Peter Jackson who is widely known in filmmaking
(youtube.com).
Philip, my second First name, like that of the prior can be
considered as one of the most widely used names there is in the
Christian world. The initial meaning of Philip is horse lover or
lover of horses; taking this from its etymological roots which
is the masculine Greek personal name Phlippos, from the
components philein meaning to love the and hippos meaning
horse and the The literal translation in greek is the
owner(Deborah Mann; www.babynology.com). On the other hand,
20000-names.com claimed that the name Philip is Anglizided from
GailicFeidhelim , which means hospitable.

This old Greek name has been popular since antiquity. The name
is abound in the bible, for one of the apostles has this name
Furthermore, Philip Easton, 1897explained that the name is
popular among royalties in Europe and neighboring neighbors
thereof; among the royal personages mentioned by Easton's are:
Philipof Macedon (382336BC) King of Macedonia and the
fatherofAlexandertheGreat, also PhilipAugustus who became the
ruler of France from 1180 to 1223, Philip the fair who became
the,kingofFrance from 1285 to the year 1314. Note that, the
above stated royalties bearing the name Philip are only fraction
of numerous leaders in history. In addition, there are also well
known commoners who possess the name like Phillip Buchanon a
football player; Phillip Gonyea a well renowned musician;
Phillip Hagar Smith who is an electrical engineer and inventor;
Phillip Jack Brooks aka CM Punk who is a wrestler; Phillip E.
Johnson, one of the founders of the intelligent design movement;
Phillip Noyce an Australian film director among others
(ohbabynames.com).

REFERENCES:
1. Theresa Norman, A world of Baby Names. Berkley Publishing
Group a Division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
http://www.babynamewizard.com/baby-name/boy/peter
2. http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Peter
3. http://www.rmg.co.uk/explore/sea-and-ships/facts/explorers-
and-leaders/peter-the-great
4. GenoJezek, 2013. History of Magnets.
http://www.howmagnetswork.com/history.html
5. Popularity of the name Peter.
http://www.ourbabynamer.com/Peter-name-popularity.html
6. Popularity of the name Peter.
https://www.youtube.com/user/pcarrenom1234
7. Peter Yarrow from Peter, Paul & Mary.
http://www.peterpaulandmary.com/people/f-py.htm
8. Peter: Gender of the name. http://www.babycenter.com/baby-
names-peter-52685.htm
9. How do you spell the female name of Peter?
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_spell_female_name_of_p
eter
10. Names for girls.
http://www.randomnames.com/allnames.asp?i=P&g=f
11. The name Peter is a baby boy name.
http://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/peter
12. Popular and Unique Baby Girl Names.
http://www.momswhothink.com/baby-girl-names/baby-girl-
names-p.html
13. Peter. http://www.behindthename.com/name/peter
14. Origin of the name Peter.
http://www.babynamewizard.com/baby-name/boy/peter
15. Angela Dawn, 2012. Unfairly Dated Names: Peter.
http://upswingbabynames.com/2012/07/unfairly-dated-names-
peter/
16. Karl Keating, 2004. Peter the Rock. Catholic Answers
Online Publication. http://www.catholic.com/tracts/peter-
the-rock
17. Peter: The Meaning ofthe Name.
http://themeaningofthename.com/peter/
18. Deborah Mann. What Does The Name Philip
Mean?.http://references-definitions.blurtit.com/53356/what-
does-the-name-philip-mean-
19. Male P Names. http://www.20000-
names.com/male_p_names_2.htm
20. philip. (n.d.). Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.
Retrieved April 18, 2014, from Dictionary.com website:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/philip
21. Meaning of the name Philip.
http://www.babynology.com/meaning-philip-m10.html
22. Famous People Named Phillip.
http://www.ohbabynames.com/meaning/name/phillip/1526