Etymology

Main article: Names of the Philippines

During his 1542 expedition, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the islands
of Leyte and Samar "Felipinas" after King Philip II of Castile (then Prince of Asturias). Eventually, the
name "Las Islas Filipinas" would be used for the archipelago's Spanish possessions.[19]: 6 Other
names, such as "Islas del Poniente" (Western Islands), "Islas del Oriente" (Eastern Islands),
Ferdinand Magellan's name, and "San Lázaro" (Islands of St. Lazarus), were used by the Spanish to
refer to islands in the region before Spanish rule was established.[20][21][22]

During the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the República
Filipina (the Philippine Republic).[23] American colonial authorities referred to the country as the
Philippine Islands (a translation of the Spanish name).[24] The United States began changing its
nomenclature from "the Philippine Islands" to "the Philippines" in the Philippine Autonomy Act and
the Jones Law.[25] The official title "Republic of the Philippines" was included in the 1935 constitution
as the name of the future independent state,[26] and in all succeeding constitutional revisions.[27][28]