The Last Name

• The first of the two last names is the primary family name in Spain. In Portugal, the last of the two surnames is usually considered the primary surname. Compound names may include a Y, a dash (or hyphen) or a preposition such as "de" "del" or "de la."
  
  The pattern that most Hispanics follow is this: First name, father's last name, mother's last name. A Hispanic name consist of the nombre cristiano, which is the first and middle name, although Hispanics don't follow the "middle name" concept but instead consider the first two names to be composite name. This is followed by two apellidos or last names, including the father's last name and the mother's last name.
  
  For example, as explained by Dr. Deborah R Lemon, when a woman's first name is Rosa Maria, the second name, Maria, is not her middle name. It's part of her first name. Her first surname is Munoz, which is her father's last name. Her second surname is Izquierdo, which is her mother's last name. Izquierdo is not considered her last name but part of her complete last name. If she chooses to take her husband's last name when she gets married, she adds his first last name, or the name of his father, to her first last name. When Rose Maria Munoz Izquierdo marries Ramon Gomez Gonzalez she becomes Rosa Maria Munoz Gomez or Rose Maria Munoz de Gomez. However, Rosa Maria's primary last name is still Munoz.
  
  

The Second Name

• A child's second name is traditionally chosen by the family, although the child's parents choose his first name. In Panama, El Salvador and Cuba, the second name is a baptismal name and may honor a grandparent or it may be the grandfather's name with a diminutive ending.
  
  

Switching it Up

• Some Hispanic parents give their children the mother's surname as the first surname or apellido materno and the father's surname (apellido paterno) as the second surname. If parents aren't married when their children are born in some Hispanic cultures, the mother's name is the first last name and the father's name is the last second name.
  
  

Favored Names

• Hispanics frequently name their daughters Maria, in honor of the Virgin Mary. Boys are also given the name Maria, but it is generally preceded by a masculine name, such as Jose. Hispanic names sometimes reflect gender, although the name Maria goes both way. Names that end in an "O" sound are masculine. Those ending in "A" are feminine.