SPANISH newborns automatically receive the last name of their fathers (with the mother’s surname coming first) unless the parents choose to have the two names reversed. Under a proposed law, in cases of non-agreement or uncertainty, a baby would receive the parents’ names in alphabetical order. The idea is to remove any trace of patriarchal favoritism.

This is a country, by the way, that has one of the lowest birth rates in the developed world.         

Fitzgerald writes:

In Quebec, mother’s have to register the children’s birth and they will NOT allow you to give the surname of the father.. just the mother’s.

Laura writes:

A previous post on laws regarding surnames in Quebec can be found here.

Daniel H. writes:

I enjoy your wonderful blog. Thank you.

A word on Spanish surnames. A child traditionally receives two surnames, the father’s first and the mother’s second. A Colombian father (for example) with the surname Gómez who has a child, Nicolás, with a woman surnamed Dávila, would have a son named Nicolás Gómez Dávila. The children of Nicolás would receive the Gómez name from him, and the Dávila name would disappear after his generation (at least on his mother’s side of the family). To clarify: the first “last name” is the patrinomial, the second is the matrinomial.

The way your post is written, “(with the mother’s surname coming first)”, is incorrect. In fact, if this absurd law is passed in Spain, the cases where the mother’s name does indeed come first would be the ridiculous, non-traditional cases.

This technicality aside, I must say I find this news incredibly depressing — and depressingly unsurprising.

Laura writes:

Thank you for the clarification. I did indeed misrepresent the order.

Kilroy M. writes:

The “developments” in countries like Spain and Sweden inform me that it is men, not women, who are to blame for all this; after all, these are male-dominated parliaments, courts, editorial boards, faculty chairs etc.

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