Baybayin Names: How to Write Your Name in Baybayin
Updated: Oct 5
Writing your name is the favorite first project for anyone learning Baybayin. The key rule: Baybayin follows how a name sounds, not how it is spelled in English.
Step 1: Spell it the way it sounds
Say your name out loud and write it with Tagalog sounds:
Michael sounds like may-kel.
Joel can be diyo-wel or diyol.
Christine sounds like ki-ris-tin.
Baybayin has no c, f, j, q, v, x or z, so those sounds become k or s, p, diy, k, b, ks and s.
Step 2: Split into syllables
Break the name into consonant-plus-vowel chunks. Maria becomes ma-ri-ya. Consonant clusters get a vowel added between them, so Mark often becomes ma-rak.
Step 3: Write each syllable
Start each vowel-only syllable with its vowel character: a, e/i or o/u.
Write each consonant with its kudlit: above for e/i, below for o/u.
End a syllable on a consonant with the virama.
Example: Maria = ᜋᜇᜒᜌ (ma-ri-ya).
Step 4: Check it
Type your name into the Baybayin Translator. It knows hundreds of names and handles the sound changes for you. Then trace it on the Practice Writing page until you can write it from memory.
Name ideas and lists
Before it goes permanent
If your name is going on a tattoo or a custom piece, have a Baybayin expert double-check it. And if you want to learn to write every name in your family, join a Baybayin workshop.
Carry your roots with you: Learn Baybayin designs are all titled in Baybayin.
Learn it live, then wear it
The fastest way to really learn Baybayin is with a teacher and a group. In the Baybayin Workshop you will learn all 17 characters, the kudlit and the virama, and leave able to write your own name and the names of your family.
Baybayin Character Hoodie: all the characters on one hoodie
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