A Family With Any Other Name...
![Image](http://web.archive.org./web/20190610033345im_/https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lSXM-H76GbA/XPtbWPq25TI/AAAAAAAAN44/qSumCnPI_UI7DhOYe7qa2k1CQYLjM0g1wCLcBGAs/s400/prewar%2Bpangelinan%2Bfamily.jpg)
I put this together for a Chamoru language curriculum project I was working on a few years ago. It was meant to be an appendix to go along with other cultural components about learning Chamoru. The list started with the work of Malia Ramirez and then I added on a few more here and there. It is by no means meant to be exhaustive or complete. Chamoru family names are still evolving, although perhaps not at the rate they have previously. For every Chamoru, there are a number of names they can claim, but unless they are running for office, tend to only invoke one or two when representing their identity.
I returned to this list recently while discussing the topic in one of my Chamoru language classes. For many Chamorus in the states or who grow up on Guam without much emphasis on their heritage, they assume that their "family name" is their last name. I have had many troubling conversations with young people who assert that their clan name is "Leon Guerrero" or "Pe…
I returned to this list recently while discussing the topic in one of my Chamoru language classes. For many Chamorus in the states or who grow up on Guam without much emphasis on their heritage, they assume that their "family name" is their last name. I have had many troubling conversations with young people who assert that their clan name is "Leon Guerrero" or "Pe…