Spain Naming Customs

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Spain

Personal Names

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

Online Tools

• List Of Surnames
• List Of Given Names
• Abbreviations
• Spain Surname Distribution Map

Surnames

• The typical Spanish name has four parts: first given name, second given name, father's surname, and mother's surname.
• When a woman marries a man, she keeps her maiden surname.
• Often, the practice is to use one given name and the first surname most of the time (e.g. "Miguel de Unamuno" for Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo); the complete name is typically reserved for legal, formal, and documentary matters.

"de (of)", "y (and)", and "e (and)"

• In Spanish, the preposition particle "de" ("of") is used as a conjunction in two-surname spelling styles, and to disambiguate a surname, e.g. Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Pedro López de Ayala, and Vasco Núñez de Balboa, as in many conquistador names.
• In the sixteenth century, the Spanish adopted the conjunction "y" ("and") to distinguish a person's surnames, e.g. Luis de Góngora y Argote or Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes. The conjunction '"y" avoids confusion when the paternal surname might appear to be a given name. Without it, the Santiago Ramón y Cajal might appear to be named Santiago Ramón and surnamed Cajal, when actually his given name is Santiago and Ramón y Cajal is his surname.
• When the maternal surname begins with an "i" vowel sound (written with I, Y, Hi + consonant), Spanish substitutes "e in place of y", e.g. Eduardo Dato e Iradier.

Jewish Surname Customs

Jews followed the custom of using only a given name and the name of the father, such as Isaac, son of Abraham (Isaac ben Abraham). Most Jews did not adopt hereditary family names until required to do so by law.

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.

• Many families that immigrated to the United States reversed the two surnames. Then the first surname is the mother's and the second surname the father’s.
• Most of the time the surname spelling changed to accomodate 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.

Given Names

• Children are usually given the names of Catholic saints, martyrs or a version of names for Mary, the mother of Jesus.
• Many children were given several names, usually two or three. Each name was thought to give protection from the saint named. Traditionally, one of the names had to be the saint assigned to the birthdate.
• To maximize the divine protection, some children were named for a male and a female saint. The first name will tell you the sex of the child. Usually, only the names of María and José are borrowed from the opposite sex.

Name Endings

Gender and grammar can affect name endings.

Spanish names also may be gendered by way of spelling. In general, only male names end with "o": e.g., Francisco. Only female names end with "a": e.g., Francisca.

Use of Maria

Girls are often named María, honouring the Virgin Mary, by appending either a shrine, place, or religious-concept suffix-name to María. In daily life, such women omit the "Mary of the ..." nominal prefix, and use the suffix portion of their composite names as their public, rather than legal, identity. Hence, women with Marian names such as María de los Ángeles (Mary of the Angels), María del Pilar (Mary of the Pillar), and María de la Luz (Mary of the Light), are normally addressed as Ángeles (Angels), Pilar (Pillar), and Luz (Light); however, each might be addressed as María. Nicknames such as Maricarmen for María del Carmen, Marisol for "María (de la) Soledad" ("Our Lady of Solitude", the Virgin Mary), Dolores or Lola for María de los Dolores ("Our Lady of Sorrows"), Mercedes or Merche for María de las Mercedes ("Our Lady of Mercy"), etc. are often used. Also, parents can simply name a girl María, or Mari without a suffix portion.

For Further Reading

• Spanish naming customs in Wikipedia.