Etymology

Main article: Name of the Philippines

Philip II of Spain

Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands
of Leyte and Samar "Felipinas" after Philip II of Spain, then the Prince of Asturias. Eventually the
name "Las Islas Filipinas" would be used to cover the archipelago's Spanish possessions. [17] Before
Spanish rule was established, other names such as Islas del Poniente (Islands of the West) and
Magellan's name for the islands, San Lázaro, were also used by the Spanish to refer to islands in the
region.[18][19][20][21]
During the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of
the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the period of the Spanish–American
War (1898) and the Philippine–American War (1899–1902) until the Commonwealth period (1935–
1946), American colonial authorities referred to the country as the Philippine Islands, a translation of
the Spanish name.[22] The full title of the Republic of the Philippines was included in the 1935
constitution as the name of the future independent state. [23]