Editing Surname (section)

== Multiple surnames ==
=== Spanish-speaking countries ===
{{Main|Spanish naming customs|Naming customs of Hispanic America}}
{{See also|Surnames by country#The Philippines}}

In Spain and in most [[Hispanophone|Spanish-speaking countries]], the custom is for people to have two surnames, with the first surname coming from the father and the second from the mother; the opposite order is now legally allowed in Spain but still unusual. In informal situations typically only the first one is used, although both are needed for legal purposes. A child's first surname will usually be their father's first surname, while the child's second surname will usually be their mother's first surname. For example, if José García Torres and María Acosta Gómez had a child named Pablo, then his full name would be Pablo García Acosta. One family member's relationship to another can often be identified by the various combinations and permutations of surnames.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
{{chart/start|align=center|summary=An example family tree}}
{{chart|||JGT|y|MAG|||JGT=José '''{{font color|red|García}} Torres'''|MAG=María '''{{font color|blue|Acosta}} Gómez'''|}}
{{chart||||||!|||||||}}
{{chart|||||PGA||||||PGA=Pablo '''{{font color|red|García}} {{font color|blue|Acosta}}'''|}}
{{chart/end}}

In some instances, when an individual's first surname is very common, such as for example in [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]], the second surname tends to gain preeminence over the first one in informal use. Rodríguez Zapatero, therefore is more often called just ''Zapatero'' and almost never ''Rodríguez'' only; in other cases, such as in writer [[Mario Vargas Llosa]], a person becomes usually called by both surnames. This changes from person to person and stems merely from habit.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

In Spain, feminist activism pushed for a law approved in 1999 that allows an adult to change the order of his/her family names,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Govan|first=Fiona|date=1 June 2017|title=Spain overhauls tradition of 'sexist' double-barrelled surnames|url=https://www.thelocal.es/20170601/spain-overhauls-tradition-of-sexist-double-barrelled-surnames|newspaper=The Local Spain|access-date=16 October 2017|archive-date=17 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017044322/https://www.thelocal.es/20170601/spain-overhauls-tradition-of-sexist-double-barrelled-surnames|url-status=live}}</ref> and parents can also change the order of their children's family names if they (and the child, if over 12) agree, although this order must be the same for all their children.<ref>[http://noticias.juridicas.com/index.php?doc=http%3A//noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Privado/lrc.html ''Art. 55 Ley de Registro Civil'' – Civil Register Law] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216035754/http://noticias.juridicas.com/index.php?doc=http%3A%2F%2Fnoticias.juridicas.com%2Fbase_datos%2FPrivado%2Flrc.html|date=16 December 2017}} (article in Spanish)</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Juan Carlos|first=R.|date=11 February 2000|title=Real Decreto 193/2000, de 11 de febrero, de modificación de determinados artículos del Reglamento del Registro Civil en materia relativa al nombre y apellidos y orden de los mismos.|url=http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Privado/rd193-2000.html|access-date=22 September 2008|website=Base de Datos de Legislación|publisher=Noticias Juridicas|language=es|archive-date=3 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003040754/http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Privado/rd193-2000.html|url-status=live}} ''Google auto-translation of title into English'': Royal Decree 193/2000, of 11 February, to amend certain articles of the Civil Registration Regulations in the field on the name and order.</ref>

In Spain, especially [[Catalonia]], the paternal and maternal surnames are often combined using the conjunction ''y'' ("and" in Spanish) or ''i'' ("and" in [[Catalan language|Catalan]]), see for example the economist [[Xavier Sala-i-Martin]] or painter [[Salvador Dalí|Salvador Dalí i Domènech]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

In Spain, a woman does not generally change her legal surname when she marries. In some Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, a woman may, on her marriage, drop her mother's surname and add her husband's surname to her father's surname using the preposition ''de'' ("of"), ''del'' ("of the", when the following word is masculine) or ''de la'' ("of the", when the following word is feminine). For example, if "Clara Reyes Alba" were to marry "Alberto Gómez Rodríguez", the wife could use "Clara Reyes ''de'' Gómez" as her name (or "Clara Reyes Gómez", or, rarely, "Clara Gómez Reyes". She can be addressed as ''[[Mrs.|Sra]]. de Gómez'' corresponding to "Mrs Gómez"). Feminist activists have criticized this custom {{when|date=June 2018}} as they consider it sexist.<ref>{{Cite web|date=9 January 2012|title=Proper married name?|url=http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/219019/proper-married-name|website=Spanish Dict|access-date=16 October 2017|archive-date=17 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017093424/http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/219019/proper-married-name|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Frank|first1=Francine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_fvHy48GiIEC|title=Language and the Sexes|last2=Anshen|first2=Frank|publisher=SUNY Press|year=1985|isbn=978-0-87395-882-0|page=18}}</ref> In some countries, this form may be mainly social and not an official name change, i.e. her name would still legally be her birth name. This custom, begun in medieval times, is decaying and only has legal validity {{citation needed|date=October 2010}} in [[Dominican Republic]], [[Ecuador]], [[Guatemala]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Honduras]], [[Peru]], [[Panama]], and to a certain extent in Mexico (where it is optional but becoming obsolete), but is frowned upon by people in Spain, Cuba, and elsewhere. In Peru and the Dominican Republic, women normally conserve all family names after getting married. For example, if ''Rosa María Pérez Martínez'' marries ''Juan Martín De la Cruz Gómez'', she will be called ''Rosa María Pérez Martínez de De la Cruz'', and if the husband dies, she will be called ''Rosa María Pérez Martínez Vda. de De la Cruz'' (Vda. being the abbreviation for ''viuda'', "widow" in Spanish). The law in Peru changed some years ago, and all married women can keep their maiden last name if they wish with no alteration.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Historically, sometimes a father transmitted his combined family names, thus creating a new one e.g., the paternal surname of the son of ''Javier'' (given name) ''Reyes'' (paternal family name) ''de la Barrera'' (maternal surname) may have become the new paternal surname ''Reyes de la Barrera''. For example, Uruguayan politician [[Guido Manini Rios]] has inherited a compound surname constructed from the patrilineal and matrilineal surnames of a recent ancestor. ''De'' is also the [[nobiliary particle]] used with Spanish surnames. This can not be chosen by the person, as it is part of the surname, for example, "Puente" and "Del Puente" are not the same surname.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Sometimes, for single mothers or when the father would or could not recognize the child, the mother's surname has been used twice: for example, "Ana Reyes Reyes". In Spain, however, children with just one parent receive both surnames of that parent, although the order may also be changed. In 1973 in Chile, the law was changed to avoid stigmatizing illegitimate children with the maternal surname repeated.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Some Hispanic people, after leaving their country, drop their maternal surname, even if not formally, so as to better fit into the non-Hispanic society they live or work in. Similarly, foreigners with just one surname may be asked to provide a second surname on official documents in Spanish-speaking countries. When none (such as the mother's maiden name) is provided, the last name may simply be repeated.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

A new trend in the United States for Hispanics is to hyphenate their father's and mother's last names. This is done because American-born English-speakers are not aware of the Hispanic custom of using two last names and thus mistake the first last name of the individual for a middle name. In doing so they would, for example, mistakenly refer to Esteban Álvarez Cobos as Esteban A. Cobos. Such confusion can be particularly troublesome in official matters. To avoid such mistakes, Esteban Álvarez Cobos, would become Esteban Álvarez-Cobos, to clarify that both are last names.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

In some churches, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where the family structure is emphasized, as well as a legal marriage, the wife is referred to as "''hermana''" [sister] plus the surname of her husband. And most records of the church follow that structure as well.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

==== Informal traditional names ====
In many places, such as villages in Catalonia, [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], and [[Asturias]] and in Cuba, people are often informally known by the name of their dwelling or collective family nickname rather than by their surnames. For example, Remei Pujol i Serra who lives at Ca l'Elvira would be referred to as "Remei de Ca l'Elvira"; and Adela Barreira López who is part of the "Provisores" family would be known as "Adela dos Provisores".{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Also in many places, such as [[Cantabria]], the family's nickname is used instead of the surname: if one family is known as "Ñecos" because of an ancestor who was known as "Ñecu", they would be "José el de Ñecu" or "Ana la de Ñecu" (collective: the Ñeco's). Some common nicknames are "Rubiu" (blond or red hair), "Roju" (reddish, referring to their red hair), "Chiqui" (small), "Jinchu" (big), and a bunch of names about certain characteristics, family relationship or geographical origin ({{lang|ca|italic=no|pasiegu}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|masoniegu}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|sobanu}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|llebaniegu}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|tresmeranu}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|pejinu}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|naveru}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|merachu}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|tresneru}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|troule}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|mallavia}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|marotias}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|llamoso}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|lipa}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|ñecu}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|tarugu}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|trapajeru}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|lichón}}, {{lang|ca|italic=no|andarível}}).

==== Compound surnames ====
Beyond the seemingly "compound" surname system in the Spanish-speaking world, there are also true compound surnames. These true compound surnames are passed on and inherited as compounds. For instance, former chairman of the [[Military junta|Supreme Military Junta]] of [[Ecuador]], General [[Luis Telmo Paz y Miño]] Estrella, has [[Luis]] as his first given name, Telmo as his middle name, the true compound surname Paz y Miño as his first (i.e. paternal) surname, and Estrella as his second (i.e. maternal) surname. Luis Telmo Paz y Miño Estrella is also known more casually as Luis Paz y Miño, Telmo Paz y Miño, or Luis Telmo Paz y Miño. He would never be regarded as Luis Estrella, Telmo Estrella, or Luis Telmo Estrella, nor as Luis Paz, Telmo Paz, or Luis Telmo Paz. This is because "Paz" alone is not his surname (although other people use the "Paz" surname on its own).<ref name=":0" /> In this case, [[Pazmiño|Paz y Miño]] is in fact the paternal surname, being a true compound surname. His children, therefore, would inherit the compound surname "Paz y Miño" as their paternal surname, while Estrella would be lost, since the mother's paternal surname becomes the children's second surname (as their own maternal surname). "Paz" alone would not be passed on, nor would "Miño" alone.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

To avoid ambiguity, one might often informally see these true compound surnames hyphenated, for instance, as Paz-y-Miño. This is true especially in the [[English-speaking world]], but also sometimes even in the Hispanic world, since many Hispanics are unfamiliar with this and other compound surnames, "Paz y Miño" might be inadvertently mistaken as "Paz" for the paternal surname and "Miño" for the maternal surname. Although Miño did start off as the maternal surname in this compound surname, it was many generations ago, around five centuries, that it became compounded, and henceforth inherited and passed on as a compound.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Other surnames which started off as compounds of two or more surnames, but which merged into one single word, also exist. An example would be the surname [[Pazmiño]], whose members are related to the Paz y Miño, as both descend from the "Paz Miño" family{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} of five centuries ago.<!--This isn't a specific century! What century is this? See WP:DATED.-->

[[Álava]], Spain is known for its incidence of true compound surnames, characterized for having the first portion of the surname as a patronymic, normally a Spanish patronymic or more unusually a [[Basque language|Basque]] patronymic, followed by the [[preposition]] "de", with the second part of the surname being a placename from Álava.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

=== Portuguese-speaking countries ===
{{Main|Portuguese name}}

In Portuguese naming customs, the main surname (the one used in alpha sorting, indexing, abbreviations, and greetings), appears last.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Each person usually has two family names: though the law specifies no order, the first one is usually the maternal family name and the last one is commonly the paternal family name. In Portugal, a person's full name has a minimum legal length of two names (one given name and one family name from either parent) and a maximum of six names (two first names and four surnames – he or she may have up to four surnames in any order desired picked up from the total of his/her parents and grandparents' surnames). The use of any surname outside this lot, or of more than six names, is legally possible, but it requires dealing with bureaucracy. Parents or the person him/herself must explain the claims they have to bear that surname (a family nickname, a rare surname lost in past generations, or any other reason one may find suitable). In Brazil, there is no limit of surnames used.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

In the Portuguese tradition, the mother's surname usually comes first, followed by the father's surname. A woman may adopt her husband's {{as written|surname(s)}}, but nevertheless, she usually keeps her birth name or at least the last one. Since 1977 in Portugal and 2012 in Brazil, a husband can also adopt his wife's surname. When this happens, usually both spouses change their name after marriage.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

The custom of a woman changing her name upon marriage is recent. It spread in the late 19th century in the upper classes, under French influence, and in the 20th century, particularly during the 1930s and 1940, it became socially almost obligatory. Nowadays, fewer women adopt, even officially, their husbands' names, and among those who do so officially, it is quite common not to use it either in their professional or informal life.{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}}

The children usually bear only the last surnames of the parents (i.e., the paternal surname of each of their parents). For example, ''Carlos da Silva Gonçalves'' and ''Ana Luísa de Albuquerque Pereira (Gonçalves)'' (in case she adopted her husband's name after marriage) would have a child named ''Lucas Pereira Gonçalves''. However, the child may have any other combination of the parents' surnames, according to [[euphony]], social significance, or other reasons. For example, is not uncommon for the firstborn male to be given the father's full name followed by "Júnior" or "Filho" (son), and the next generation's firstborn male to be given the grandfather's name followed by "Neto" (grandson). Hence ''Carlos da Silva Gonçalves'' might choose to name his first born son ''Carlos da Silva Gonçalves Júnior'', who in turn might name his first born son ''Carlos da Silva Gonçalves Neto'', in which case none of the mother's family names are passed on.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

{{chart/start|align=center|summary=An example family tree}}
{{chart|||CSG|e|ALAP|||CSG=Carlos '''da Silva {{font color|red|Gonçalves}}'''|ALAP=Ana Luísa '''de Albuquerque {{font color|blue|Pereira}}'''|}}
{{chart||||||!|||||||}}
{{chart|||||LPG||||||LPG=Lucas '''{{font color|blue|Pereira}} {{font color|red|Gonçalves}}'''|}}
{{chart/end}}

In ancient times a patronymic was commonly used – surnames like ''Gonçalves'' ("son of ''Gonçalo''"), ''Fernandes'' ("son of ''Fernando''"), ''Nunes'' ("son of ''Nuno''"), ''Soares'' ("son of ''Soeiro''"), ''Sanches'' ("son of ''Sancho''"), ''Henriques'' ("son of ''Henrique''"), ''Rodrigues'' ("son of ''Rodrigo''") which along with many others are still in regular use as very prevalent family names.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

In medieval times, Portuguese nobility started to use one of their estates' names or the name of the town or village they ruled as their surname, just after their patronymic. [[Soeiro Mendes da Maia]] bore a name "Soeiro", a patronymic "Mendes" ("son of Hermenegildo – shortened to Mendo") and the name of the town he ruled "[[Maia, Porto, Portugal|Maia]]". He was often referred to in 12th-century documents as "Soeiro Mendes, senhor da Maia", Soeiro Mendes, lord of Maia. Noblewomen also bore patronymics and surnames in the same manner and never bore their husband's surnames. First-born males bore their father's surname, other children bore either both or only one of them at their will.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Only during the Early Modern Age, lower-class males started to use at least one surname; married lower-class women usually took up their spouse's surname, since they rarely ever used one beforehand. After the [[1755 Lisbon earthquake]], Portuguese authorities realized the benefits of enforcing the use and registry of surnames. Henceforth, they became mandatory, although the rules for their use were very liberal.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Until the end of the 19th century, it was common for women, especially those from a very poor background, not to have a surname and so to be known only by their first names. A woman would then adopt her husband's full surname after marriage. With the advent of republicanism in Brazil and Portugal, along with the institution of civil registries, all children now have surnames.
During the mid-20th century, under French influence and among upper classes, women started to take up their husbands' {{as written|surname(s)}}. From the 1960s onwards, this usage spread to the common people, again under French influence, this time, however, due to the forceful legal adoption of their husbands' surname which was imposed onto Portuguese immigrant women in France.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

From the 1974 [[Carnation Revolution]] onwards the adoption of their husbands' {{as written|surname(s)}} receded again, and today both the adoption and non-adoption occur, with non-adoption being chosen in the majority of cases in recent years (60%).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Identidade, submissão ou amor? O que significa adoptar o apelido do marido|date=18 November 2014|url=http://lifestyle.publico.pt/artigos/341672_identidade-submissao-ou-amor-o-que-significa-adoptar-o-apelido-do-marido|access-date=16 April 2018|publisher=Lifestyle.publico.pt|archive-date=17 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417024656/http://lifestyle.publico.pt/artigos/341672_identidade-submissao-ou-amor-o-que-significa-adoptar-o-apelido-do-marido|url-status=live}}</ref> Also, it is legally possible for the husband to adopt his wife's {{as written|surname(s)}}, but this practice is rare.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}
[[File:Map of Most Commons Surnames in the United States by State.svg|thumb|Map of Most Common Surnames in the United States by State]]