Document #1206743
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Written sources on the use of surnames in
Latin America could not be found among the sources currently
available to the IRBDC. The information that follows was elaborated
by the Research Officers of the IRBDC Information Request Unit
whose main field of expertise is Latin America.
In Latin America, most legal documents are
required to carry the full name of individuals, as stated in their
birth certificate or similar registration papers. [ In some cases,
common abbreviations or familiar variations of first and middle
names which are frequently used, such as "Paco" instead of
Francisco or "Lucho" instead of Luis, may be used in legal
documents. Some individuals may even be registered at birth with
these abbreviations of variations as first and/or middle names.]
Latinamericans are usually baptized and/or registered with a first
name, a middle name and two surnames, the first surname being the
father's first surname and the second one being the mother's first
maiden surname. In some exceptional cases, children are baptized or
registered with more than two middle names and/or more than two
surnames. Usually there are no legal restrictions on the number of
names and surnames, although the space available in registration
documents including birth certificates may limit their number. A
single mother may register her children with her own surnames.
Upon marriage, women usually bear the
husband's first surname after their surname, with the preposition
"de" (of) preceding the husband's. In this case, a woman called C
rmen Rosa (first and middle names) whose family name is
Núñez Flores and her husband's is Gómez Lara,
could be called C rmen Rosa Núñez Flores de
Gómez or C rmen Rosa Núñez de Gómez.
She can also be referred to as Señora (Mrs.) Gómez,
Señora de Gómez, C rmen Rosa de Gómez or C
rmen Rosa Gómez. The Civil Codes of some countries allow
couples to choose how they wish to be referred to, including the
possibility of a husband bearing the surname of his wife in the
same fashion. In the hypothetical case mentioned in this paragraph,
her husband could be referred to as José Luis Gómez
de Núñez. However, tradition may keep men from using
their wive's surnames.
Some surnames are similar to first names,
some examples being Jorge and Jaime (Spanish equivalents of George
and James, respectively). Thus, an individual's full name could be,
for example, Jaime Aurelio Jorge Gómez, Jorge Luis
Núñez Jaime or C rmen Rosa Nuñez de Jaime (she
could also be referred to as Señora de Jaime or
Señora Jaime).
Other surnames include the prepositions
"de", "del" or "de la" (all meaning "of", but referring to neutral,
male or female articles, respectively). Examples could be "de
León", "del Campo", "de la Flor" or "de la Peña".
Some surnames may be preceded by an article, most frequently a
female one; examples of this could be "La Rosa" and "La Roca".
Composite surnames, regarded as a single
one, are also used. Some consist of two surnames joined by a
hyphen; an example could be Núñez and Gómez
becoming Núñez-Gómez. These composite surnames
are passed on to the children as a single surname, be it the
father's or the mother's. Examples of this use could be Juan Pablo
Núñez-Gómez Flores or Juan Pablo Flores
Núñez-Gómez. This practice may have originated
among marriages between members of two prestigious families or
couples which wanted their lineage to be more easily
identified.
Some surnames can also be composite and
regarded as a single one, but joined by the preposition "de", "del"
or "de la" (of) . Examples could be "León de Vivero",
"Niño de Guzm n", "Núñez del Riego" and
"Flores de la Peña". Full names could be, for example, Jorge
Luis León de Vivero Flores, José Luis Flores
Niño de Guzm n, Juan Pablo Núñez del Riego
Villa or José Javier Rosas Flores de la Peña. Some
composite surnames may even be longer, an example being "de la Jara
y Ureta". An individual with this surname could be named, for
example, José Luis de la Jara y Ureta Guzm n or Juan
Francisco Guzm n de la Jara y Ureta.
Specific information on legislation
governing the registration of surnames in El Salvador could not be
found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC.
Please note that only names and surnames of
Spanish origin have been used for these examples, although a
variety of names and surnames from all over the world can be found
in Latinamerican countries.