Sitting at lunch on Sunday a friend said to me, so what is the situation with Spanish women keeping their own surname when marrying, and also what happens with their children?
Spanish women always keep their own birth name; it never changes. So if they marry Alberto Molina Sanchez and their name is Ana Macia Perez, then they keep that name; it does not change.
When their son, Juan, is born he becomes Juan Molina (first surname “apellido” from father) and first surname from mother after (Macia), thus Juan Molina Macia. If a daughter is born, then it is exactly the same.
Often people do not use both of their surnames (they do say “last names” in Spanish) and use only the first surname, so Juan Molina for the boy.
If you were a British woman marrying Alberto Molina Sanchez you would just keep your maiden name, and your children would have your maiden name as their second surname.
Names are not double-barreled but are kept separate. The reason that so many surnames end with -ez is because originally that ending meant “the son / daughter of”, thus Sanchez= hijo de Sancho and Lopez = hijo de Lope. Also in the past names had “and” or “y” as well but this was dropped.
Hopefully this clarifies this mystery…
4 Comments
Stuart Roberts
Hello, I am an amateur writer at present writing a historical thriller set in Spain in the Jalon valley. I want to make sure I have the character names correct.
Mrs Rose Tobin marries Senor Luis Alvarez Garcia. Am I correct in thinking that a son of this marriage could be called Carlos Alvarez Tobin? Regards Stuart Roberts.