The Real Meaning of “Don” in 19th Century Spanish Philippines

Today, I learned that Don was an actual hereditary royal title during the 1800s in Spanish Philippines.

In popular media, the title of Don was associated with a rich person.

I'm not sure if this practice extended or even came from Latin America, but I always had this impression that it did because in Tagalog-dubbed telenovelas, the servants would always call the head of the household as Don and Doña. Much later (when my Spanish proficiency allowed it), I was able to confirm that even in the original Spanish, they were using Don and Doña.

I can’t remember which book it was, but I remember reading that it was actually the Americans who popularized calling the hacienda owners as Dons.

When I was working with Spanish-speaking clients in Latin America, I noticed that in certain countries, some people called their customers as Don.

When I did some research on the usage of Don and Doña in Latin America, it appeared that this was the equivalent of calling someone ‘Miss’ or ‘Mister’ in the American South. For example, Miss Abigail or Mister Paul. Not too different from how you get addressed as ‘Sir’ and ‘Ma’am’ together with your first name (e.g., Sir David, Ma’am Joy) in our country.

Yes, in the Philippines all men are knights and all women are queens.

It wasn’t until very recently when I decided to research my ancestors that I found out that Don was actually a real title back in the Spanish era. It wasn’t just any ordinary title because only the members of the principalia were allowed to bear this title.

In this 1872 census record, the cabeza of the cabeceria was Don Juan Quintos. The cabeceria is the equivalent of the present-day barangay, and it is only the cabezas who were allowed to vote (someone among their ranks) for a gobernadorcillo, which is like a mayor in our time since he administers several cabecerias.

1872 Census Record of Ermita, Manila

You know how they always say that the Philippines used to be several divided kingdoms before the Spaniards? Well, the members of the principalia were the descendants of the original rulers of those kingdoms. This explains why membership in this class was hereditary.

Obviously, social norms change, so I’m not sure if Don and Doña were also serious titles in the past in Latin America.

What I discovered changed my perspective on something I thought was just something to add drama in telenovelas. In 19th century Philippines, “Don” was not just a sign of respect or wealth, it was a title of nobility tied to political privilege and heritage. This means when we hear Don or Doña in old documents, we are looking at a person who belonged to a powerful class in pre-colonial society as well as during Spanish colonial times.