EnglishClub ESL Forums

noeliam wrote:I live in Spain, and here we have two surnames.Usually the first one belongs to our father and the second one comes from our mother. For me, both of these are an important part of our identity and in some cases they can mark our destination. The surnames are an important way of showing the family´s story, but it is only my point of view because I was born in a country where every one of us have two surnames.On the other hand I would like to say that to me to have two surnames isn´t so important as some of the other users is because to have one or two surnames isn´t an own decision and it depends of the country´s culture

martasofia wrote:I think children should take both parents' surnames. The order of them should be a choice too.
From my point of view, having both surnames is a reflection of two different family inheritances and of a complete equality between them.
Names are important, they go with us throughout our life remembering who we are and where we come from and, on the practical sense, it helps to avoid mistakes.

ligros wrote:In Spain we take the surnames of both the parents but I know that in other countries people only take the surname of the father and when a woman marries she takes the surname of her husband. I don´t think on it like a sexist measure, I think that it´s only a different tradition and an easier way of doing administrative paperwork.