Proud to be a Sto.Domingo

I’ve created a Facebook group entitled Proud to be a Sto.Domingo on December 2009. Since then it has grown to over 150 members to date. The members are mostly Filipinos who bear the name Sto.Domingo.  A few are in my immediate family and it’s not impossible that some (or all) are indirectly related to each other. It is fascinating to think that we might belong to same family tree and might have come from the same roots.

As far as I can trace back, with the limited resources provided by my grandmother, here is my Sto.Domingo lineage: My grandfather Lorenzo had another sibling named Esperidion. They were only two brothers. I have never met my grandpa Lorenzo but I still managed to meet his brother when I was a child. Grandpa Lorenzo married Julia and had five children namely, Carina, Edgardo (my dad), Nenita, Rodolfo, and Eleanor. They are the second generation.

Third generation includes me and my brother Elizar, and our second degree cousin Ryan. We have our first degree cousins but they are children of my aunties so the "Sto.Domingo" just became their middle names thus couldn't pass it on to the next generation.

Our daughter Ashrie is the first and only one in the fourth generation as of today. And I really hope she will keep the surname when she marries in the far future. By the way, we're all from Pulilan, Bulacan.

So who was the first Sto.Domingo or from where did we get our surname? I believed it is from Saint Dominic (Santo Domingo in Spanish), also known as Dominic of Osma, often called Dominic de Guzmán and Domingo Félix de Guzmán (1170 – August 6, 1221). He was the founder of the Friars Preachers, popularly called the Dominicans or Order of Preachers (OP), a Catholic religious order. Dominic is the patron saint of astronomers. Excerpts from Wikipedia

16th century portrait of St.Dominic

by Giovanni Bellini

There are also places in the Philippines which are named Sto.Domingo. Sto.Domingo, Albay - the church here which was built in 1820 is a magnificent structure and an architectural heritage. From which you have a panoramic view of the beautiful Mayon Volcano. Other places include Sto.Domingo, Ilocos Sur and Sto.Domingo, Nueva Ecija. (There might be many other places).  And overseas, one is Santo Domingo, the capital and the largest city in Dominican Republic.

 

 

Sto.Domingo Church in Albay

Clockwise from the upper left:

Skyline of Santo Domingo; Fortaleza Ozama;

Malecón Center; Supreme Court of Justice;

Acrópolis Center; Anacaona Avenue;

he Cathedral of Santa María; The National Palace

 

I am no historian, but hope this further reading suggestions might help us in tracing back our origin:

Why Filipinos have Spanish Surnames?

Catálogo Alfabéticode Apellidos – Probably the reason why most of the group members hail from the North.

Hope to meet all of you soon! Viva la Familia Sto.Domingo!