# Correct descriptions of surname generations in Spanish (and others).
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-descriptions-of-surname-generations-in-spanish-and-others/474570
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 26, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-descriptions-of-surname-generations-in-spanish-and-others/474570 "2008-11-26T16:36:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)
#### Post date: [November 26, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-descriptions-of-surname-generations-in-spanish-and-others/474570/1 "2008-11-26T16:36:24Z")
I was trying to understand problems in governmental and commercial databases when Spanish surnames are generated or used based on different social rules than English. (Problems arise when systems ask for or process the name incorrectly or when users vary their name in different settings.) I found this website: [Traditional Hispanic last names](http://www.drlemon.net/Grammar/names.html)
Is this accurate? Is this true (or at least often the case) in Portuguese?
What about other language groups that transition their names to American “paperwork”?
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### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [November 26, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-descriptions-of-surname-generations-in-spanish-and-others/474570/2 "2008-11-26T18:06:14Z")
Seems accurate to me for Mexican Spanish, and probably for most Latin American Spanish, but of course that’s not Portuguese.
It’s also common to professionally use a more modern system of just the first name and paternal surname. Vicente Fox, for example (and countless, non-famous people in my company). Sometimes the more traditional press will use the full Vicente Fox Quedasa for initial reference, and then drop it. “Common” though doesn’t imply that it’s the general rule, but it seems to be trending that way.
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### Author:  [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)
#### Post date: [November 26, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-descriptions-of-surname-generations-in-spanish-and-others/474570/3 "2008-11-26T18:24:02Z")
Brazilian Portuguese is different. The rule there is First Name MiddleName, Mother’s Maiden Name, Father’s Last Name if the mother’s name is used which isn’t always the case. For married women, it usually becomes, First Name, Maiden Name, Married Name.
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### Author:  [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)
#### Post date: [November 26, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-descriptions-of-surname-generations-in-spanish-and-others/474570/4 "2008-11-26T21:13:06Z")
Thanks, both of you.