CNC Mortgage Blog

For example:

Efraín Perez Martinez (husband, father)

María Lopez Ruiz (wife, mother, maiden name) becomes becomes María Lopez de Perez when she marries Efrain.

Juan Perez Lopez (child)

Isabel Cristina Perez Lopez (child)

This is a good opportunity to explain how people are named in Spanish culture.

Spanish names always cause confusion with US names. Efrain, María, Juan and Isabel are the person’s first name. Isabel Cristina would be the only one in this example that has a middle name (Cristina).

For Efrain, Juan and Isabel Cristina, Perez would be considered their last name. For María, Lopez would be considered her last name.

Unless of course they are illegitimate and the father has not recognized them in which case they would only go by the mother’s last name (Lopez). If Efrain and María were not married and Efrain had not recognized the children as his, then they would be named Juan Lopez and Isabel Cristina Lopez.

Assuming that Efrain and María do get married; then María’s name becomes María Lopez de Perez, the “de Perez” translates into “of Perez.” Some married women choose not to add the “de” to their names.

Sorry to only confuse you a bit more with some culture.