In the Philippines, Filipino Mestizo (Spanish: mestizo (masculine) / mestiza (feminine); Filipino/Tagalog: Mestiso (masculine) / Mestisa (feminine)) or colloquially Tisoy, is a name used to refer to people of mixed native Filipino and any foreign ancestry. The word mestizo itself is of Spanish origin; it was first used in the Americas to describe people of mixed Native American and European ancestry. The Chinese Mestizos being the biggest Mestizo population, while the Spanish Mestizo being less yet very socially significant or prestigious minority. They are very influential with the creation of Filipino nationalism.