Custom in naming

[Esteban Leavell]

Dear Forum members -

I am translating genealogical records and continually run across a Spanish tradition in the names given to people that include family names beyond the primary sir name. Below is an example:

Don Joseph Martín del Campo y Romo de Vivar y su esposa doña Leonor de la Mora-Hurtado de Mendoza y de Hermosillo fueron padres de los siguientes vástagos:

Martín del Campo is the family name what is – y Romo de Vivar (and Romo de Vivar). The custom is followed in the wife’s name – Leonor de la Morta-Hurtado de Mendoza y de Hermosillo (and of Hermosillo).

I would appreciate anyone out there that can give me some insights on the custom. I have seen some children given the added family name while others have none. The pattern is not consistent.

I thank you in advance,

Steve

[wrholt]

You can find articles on different naming systems for different cultures on Wikipedia, and references to more reliable materials about the subject. The traditional Spanish naming system is more complex than the English naming system.

Consider the two names you quote, which I have decorated to indicate the different components of the name, at least according to my best guess. To be more certain about the components, it would be helpful to know the full names of both parents of each of these people, or perhaps the full name of one of their chlidren.

1. Don Joseph Martín del Campo y Romo de Vivar
2. doña Leonor de la Mora-Hurtado de Mendoza y de Hermosillo

a. "don" and "doña" are mildly honorific titles. They are used only immediatly before a personal name, not before an "apellido" (family name): "Don Joseph" is valid, "Don del Campo" is wrong. In contrast, the honorifics "señor", "señora" and "señorita" are used only in combination with an "apellido", regardless of whether a personal name stands in between or not.

b. "Joseph Martín" and "Leonor de la Mora-Hurtado" are "nombres", or personal names. Everone has a personal name. It may consist of any number of individual words, but it's considered to be one personal name: the concept of "middle name" doesn't (or didn't) exist. Personal names may include prepositions and articles, as with Leonor. This is especially common with many compound names starting with "María", such as "María del Rosario", "María del Pilar", "María de la Concepción", "María de la Encarnación", "María del Consuelo", and many others.

c. "del Campo y Romo de Vivar" and "de Mendoza y de Hermosillo" are "apellidos", or "family names". People with identified fathers normally have 2 apellidos: usually the first apellido comes from the paternal line of the father, while the second apellido comes from the paternal line of the mother. The word y sometimes stands between the two apellidos, especially in noble or aristocratic families. The particle "de" typically marks a noble or aristocratic family name, much like "de" in French names, "von" in German names, or "van" in Dutch names.

As "de" can appear within a "nombre" as well as within an "apellido", sometimes it is challenging to distinguish whether it is part of the nombre or part of an apellido: doña Leonor's name is an example of this. That's why it's helpful to see the names of her parents or children and of other relatives.

[explorator]

It is still usual in some places of Spain to build composed family names by linking the father and mother ones to make the first surname and then keep the repetition of the second part of it as the second surname ; e.g.: some time ago I was told by a judicial clerk that in Ciudad Real it is specially prestigious having the surname "Ladrón de Guevara , so when a couple has this combination of names their children are listed at the births registration book as "First name Ladrón de Guevara Guevara". If the two parents had a composed name then the children will have a very long name e.g.: "Juan Ladrón de Guevara González- Calero" ( with an hyphen to indicate that there is a composed surname).
Probably this is a reminiscence from the times when the blood purity was a very important thing in Spain and many people used to add to their names all the surnames of their ancestries they had been able to track. In the same tradition ,the Basque people, which until the nineteenth century considered themselves "the best and the purest Spaniards" , used to connect their surnames forming a very long one e.g: the surnames "Garay" and" Extea" would make" Garaikoetxea", or" Zumala" and "Arregui" would make" Zumalacarregui" … You just have to read a telephone list from the Basque country to find more examples.


About the presence or not of the possessive "de" in a familly name, in general and according to the laws of Spain, anybody can add this particle to his or her familly name, simply by asking for it to the Ministery of Justice. It is the same for the "y"; All combinations are possible here, for example, you can be named simply Francisco Ríos Gallardo or Francisco de Ríos y Gallardo, Francisco de Ríos Gallardo or Francisco Ríos y Gallardo.

In addition to this , it was usual a few years ago to find women who aded to their own family name their husbands family name conecting them with "de" (Probably such custom is today understood as a female submision to the male authority, and this might be the reason for its disappearance in Spain). However I find it still usual in America, where for example, the President of Argentina is usually named "Cristina Fernández de Kirchner" (I quess in this case it is an imitation or the anglosaxon naming system or simply a political strategy to remind the eventual voters the memory of her husband).


There is still a last thing about family names in Spain: The rules have changed many times along the centuries, so if you want to trace very old genealogies you should talk with an expert.
I wish I had helped you .