Concept in Definition ABC

The last name is the first name or denomination with which people are distinguished socially and civilly, that is, their first and most obvious ID.

Traditionally, in most Spanish-speaking countries, except in Argentina, where only the paternal surname is still used To accompany a person's first name, when an individual is born, they will receive the first name chosen by their parents after review of the genealogy family, some book that contains names or just because of the preference of one of the two for a special name, which It can even be accompanied by another and even a third and after this the paternal surname will be placed first and the maternal one later. For example, if the chosen name is Laura and the paternal last name is López and the maternal is Martínez, the identification of this new individual who comes to the world will be Laura López Martínez.

Of the various universal issues that are repeated in the world, but are not used in the same way by different cultures, that of surnames is the most representative, because as we mentioned, there are specific and certain differences in this regard in the world. The one in Argentina that we discussed, later in Portugal, for example, the same system is used as in Spanish-speaking countries, but the order of them is reversed or in Tibet and Java, places in which the inhabitants, directly, do not use surnames.

It is also quite common in some cultures that once a woman contracts marriage become the lady of and there goes the married name, almost making her own name obsolete.

On the other hand, in places like Russia and Romania, surnames have patronymic origin, that is, to the surname of the father of a suffix that will depend on the gender held by the newborn.

Then, According to the origin they have had, surnames are divided into: patronymic, those originated by a proper name (Álvarez de Álvaro); toponymic, those that derive from the place or land in which they lived (Gonzalo Asturias); of trades or professions, derive from the profession or job that distinguished the family (Juan Alcalde) and nicknames or descriptions, which are those derived from the description or nickname received by the person or family associated with the surname (Jorge Alegre).