Puerto Rico Naming Customs

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Puerto Rico

Naming Customs

Understanding customs used in surnames and given names can help you identify your ancestors in records. Learn to recognize name variations and see clues in names.

Online Tools

• Puerto Rico Genealogy: Names
• Names and Surnames in Puerto Rico
• Most Common Last Names In Puerto Rico
• Behind the Name: Spanish Surnames
• Behind the Name: Spanish Latin American
• BYU Script Tutorial List Of Spanish Surnames
• BYU Script Tutorial List Of Spanish Given Names
• BYU Script Tutorial Spanish Abbreviations
• Surname experience at FamilySearch - search by surname to learn its meaning and origin

Surnames

Naming Customs of Hispanic America

• The naming customs of Hispanic America are similar to the Spanish naming customs practiced in Spain, with some modifications to the surname rules. Many Hispanophones in the countries of Hispanic America have two given names, plus a paternal surname (primer apellido or apellido paterno) and a maternal surname (segundo apellido or apellido materno).
• In Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico, both men and women carry their two family names (first their father's, and second their mother's). Both are equally important and are mandatory for any official document. Married women never change their original family names for their husband's. Even when they migrate to other countries where this is a common practice, many prefer to adhere to their heritage and keep their maiden name.
• In some instances, such as high society meetings, and with no legal value (except in Argentina), the husband's surname can be added after the woman's surnames using the conjunction de ("of").
• Some names have the de conjunction without association to marriage at all. Instead they may reflect the geographical origin of the individual or that of the individual ancestors. Thus there are men named Juan Ponce de León, José de Guzmán Benítez, Cristián de la Fuente and Oscar de la Renta.

Surnames Historical Development

• Before record keeping began, most people had only one name, such as John.
• As the population increased, it became necessary to distinguish between individuals with the same name. The problem was usually solved by adding descriptive information. John became John the smith, John the son of Matthew, John the short, or John from Heidelberg.
• At first surnames applied only to one person, not to the whole family. After a few generations, these names became hereditary and were passed on from generation to generation.
• Surnames developed from several sources. For example:
  • Occupational (based on a person’s trade, such as Carter or Smith)
  • Geographical (based on a person’s residence, such as Drayton or Debenham)
  • Patronymic (based on a person’s father’s name, such as Jones, son of John)
  • Descriptive or nickname (such as Joy or Child)
• The nobility and wealthy land owners were the first to begin using surnames.
• Merchants and townspeople then adopted the custom, as did the rural population. This process took two or three centuries.

Surname Changes of Immigrants in the United States

As Immigrants moved into English-speaking countries, their surnames were impacted in a variety of ways.

• Most of the time the surname spelling changed to accommodate the different phonetic spelling in the English language. In other words, the recorder tried to write the name the way he heard it.
• Surnames may also have been translated outright into English, sometimes with a slight twist.
• Within the community, such as the local parish, immigrants may continue to use the original name, while at the same time using English-language equivalents when dealing with local government, census takers, and other English speakers.
• Different branches of the same family may adopt various surname spellings.
• Prior to 1900, formal surname changes documented in local court records are relatively rare.
• During the early 20th Century, especially the World War I era, surname changes are recorded more frequently, as immigrants or, more often, their children, tried to adopt more neutral surnames.