Leroy, So, if I really understand this, then the 'original' Roberto and Maria would actually have been Roberto Gomez Hismotherssurname and Maria Sanchez Hermotherssurname, right? And if they were Roman Catholic, then they also have a confirmation middle name...?
Neat story about the "pomposity" ;) Thanks for sharing. --Paula ----- Original Message ----- From: "LeRoy Ferguson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Legac y Usergroup" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, July 01, 2005 7:11 AM Subject: [LegacyUG] Married Names in Spain If you are Roberto Gomez and your wife is María Sanchez the last name of the children would NOT be Gomez-Sanchez, but Gomez Sanchez - no hypen. The grandchildren's name woud depend on who your children marry. Example: Daughter Ana Gomez Sanchez marries Miguel Garcia Torres, and they have a daughter Inés. She would be Inés García Gomez. Sanchez and Torres are gone forever. (Researchers of Portuguese ancestors beware: the paternal-maternal order is reversed.) Well actually, a maternal surname could endure through generations with that hyphen, but that is rare nowadays. My wife's ancestors used it out of snobbery. They were called Vazquez de Parga (the one surviving paternal surname) and were descended from the Saavedras, the most powerful family in Lugo, Galicia, from the Middle Ages to the 17th century. (BTW, it was exciting, in researching my wife's family history to discover a tombstone near Vilalba for the Saavedras which the local priest said dated from the 11th century.) So for several generations they called themselves Vazquez de Parga-Saavedra, to let everyone know how important were their roots. In some cases legal registers went went along with this pomposity, until in the early 19th century my wife's great-great-great grandfather eventually shed the hyphen in naming his own children. I kept the hyphenated names out of my Legacy data base but explained their usage in individual notes. Leroy Legacy User Group Etiquette guidelines can be found at: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp To find past messages, please go to our searchable archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup%40mail.millenniacorp.com/ To unsubscribe please visit: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp
