Double-barrelled name
Encyclopedia
In English speaking and some other Western
countries, a double-barrelled name is a family name
with two parts, which may or may not be joined with a hyphen
and is also known as a hyphenated name. An example of a hyphenated double-barrelled surname is Bowes-Lyon
; an example of an unhyphenated double-barrelled surname is Vaughan Williams
. The term is an analogy with double-barrelled shotgun
.
or civil partnership, thus forming a new two-part surname, or when child
ren are given surnames combining those of both parent
s. Double-barrelled names may also be used by children who are not brought up by their birth-parents to combine the surname of a birth-parent with that of an adoptive
parent, or the surname of their biological father with that of a stepfather. Other families believe that the act of consistently passing on only the father's name is patriarchal
in nature and choose double-barrelled names for feminist
reasons. Similarly, same-sex couples
may want to emphasise equality between partners. In some cases, children whose parents divorce have both surnames, by parents' choice or their own choice if they are of the required age. To avoid the use of double-barreled surnames, a small number of couples create a new blended surname, combining parts of each name into one, such as Villaraigosa
.
Among nobility, in the past especially, if a woman married down from her social status it was common for her and her husband to use a double-barrelled name. This was done both so as not to diminish the social status of the woman and to gain for her husband a higher social status.
Double-barrelled names are sometimes adopted when the man has a common surname such as Smith or Jones which the couple want to avoid after marriage; hence double-barrelled names often incorporate a common surname. For instance, if Mary Howard married John Smith, they could choose to become Mary and John Howard-Smith (with the man's surname usually going second). In the vast majority of cases, though, they would simply opt for Mary and John Smith.
Some double-barrelled names are formed in order to prevent a family name otherwise dying out, due to the lack of males in a generation or when notable property is inherited through the female line with a stipulation that the individual inheriting use the family name.
For same-sex couples and their families, the presumptions of gender are irrelevant; many agree on one name or another, or combine the two as a double-barrelled name.
In Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, having a non-hyphenated double-barrelled surname is the norm, and in some cases (e.g., Spain) it is actually a legal requirement. See the article on Spanish naming customs for more information.
; Cave-Browne-Cave
; Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound
; Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby
; Vane-Tempest-Stewart
) have "triple-barrelled" surnames (sometimes created when one spouse has a double-barrelled name and the other has a single surname). Nowadays, such names are almost always abbreviated in everyday use to a single or double-barrelled version. There are even a few "quadruple-barrelled" surnames (e.g. Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie
, Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis
, Stirling-Home-Drummond-Moray; Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax
or the French/English surname Taylor-Jendernai-Eirron de Mountstuart, which is the family name for the Marquis de la Eirron) and the surname of the extinct family of the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos was the quintuple-barrelled Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville. Captain Leone Sextus Denys Oswolf Fraudatifilius Tollemache-Tollemache de Orellana Plantagenet Tollemache-Tollemache is sometimes quoted as the man with the most ever "barrels" in his surname (six), but in fact all but the last two of these (Tollemache-Tollemache) were forenames.
(born with Lloyd as a middle name, but self-transformed into a double barrelled surname), the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams
, Helena Bonham Carter
(although she said the hyphen is optional ), comedian Sacha Baron Cohen
, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies.
One historic early aviator, Alberto Santos-Dumont
, is known to have not only often used an equal sign (=) between his two surnames in place of a hyphen, but also seems to have preferred that practice, to display equal respect for his father's French ethnicity and the Brazilian ethnicity of his mother.
and most Latin America
n countries, everyone has a double surname by law, although they are written without a hyphen and most people use only their first surname in everyday use. When a person is born, the custom is for them to take the first surname of the father and then the first surname of the mother. Thus, when Sr. Julio Iglesias de la Cueva
and Sra. Isabel Preysler Arrastía
had a son called Enrique, he legally was Enrique Iglesias Preysler
. Where the optional conjunction y (and) is used, the example would become "Enrique Iglesias y Preysler" (never used in the case of Enrique Iglesias; see for example José Ortega y Gasset
). On the other hand, actual double-barrelled names exist (called apellidos compuestos), such as Cruz-Coke or Pérez de Arce. For example Luciano Cruz-Coke Carvallo
is the son of Mr. Carlos Cruz-Coke Ossa and Ms. Lucía Carvallo Arriagada. In every day use Mr. Cruz-Coke Carvallo is Mr. Cruz-Coke, never Mr. Cruz.
In Portugal, where most of the population have two to four surnames (apelidos de família), the practise of using a double combination of surnames is very common. The person can either use a paternal and a maternal surname combined (à la Aníbal Cavaco Silva
) or use a double last name that has been passed down through one of the parents (António Lobo Antunes
). The last surname (normally the paternal one) is usually considered the "most important", but people may chose to use another one, often favouring the more sonant or less common of their surnames in their daily or professional life (such as Manuel Alegre
or José Manuel Barroso, who is known in Portugal by his double surname Durão Barroso). The use of more than two surnames in public life is less common, but not unusual (see Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen
).
In France
a recent practice, abolished in 2010, was to use two consecutive hyphens-- (not the same as a "long hyphen" or dash
, or with a double hyphen
) to distinguish between recently-formed double surnames and ancient hyphenated family names . The use of double surnames is legal but not customary. Children generally take on their father's surname or, recently, their mother's.
In Canada, especially Quebec
, it is not rare for children born since the 1970s to bear both parents' surnames, with no established rules as to whether the father's or mother's name should come first. (In Quebec, under the provisions of the Civil Code
enacted in 1980, both spouses must retain their original surnames upon marriage. ) This situation was frequent enough that naming laws had to be amended in the early 1990s when those with double surnames began to marry, and wished themselves to give their children double surnames. In such cases, any combination involving at most two elements of the father's or the mother's surname is permitted.
In Germany
a double surname is generally joined with a single hyphen. Other types of double surnames are not accepted by restrictive German name law. However, exceptions are made for immigrants
and for marriages where the double surname already was the official name of one partner before marriage. A 1993 law forbids anyone having more than two components in their surname. Prior to this, it was permitted for adults (e.g. Simone Greiner-Petter-Memm
and formerly Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann-Maier-Leibniz
) but their children would not inherit the name. The 1993 ban was upheld by the Constitutional Court
in 2009. The crew members of the famous First World War light cruiser
were allowed to add the name Emden with a hyphen to their surname as a special honour.
In Switzerland
double surnames are traditionally written with a hyphen and combine the surnames of a married couple with the husband's surname at first place and the wife's at second. This doubled name is called "alliance name" . The first name as such, however, is the official family name, which will be inherited by their legitimate children. So, for example, if Werner Stauffacher is married with Gertrud Baumgarten, both can use the name Stauffacher-Baumgarten. Their children Heinrich and Verena, however, bear only the surname Stauffacher. Prominent bearers of an alliance name are Micheline Calmy-Rey (Federal Minister for Foreign Affaires), Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (Federal Minister for Finance) or Johann Schneider-Ammann (Federal Minister for Economy). Lately, based on feminist pressure, wives have been permitted by law to place their maiden name before the family name. This doubled name is written without a hyphen and is borne by the wife only. So, in the example above, the wife's name is Gertrud Baumgarten Stauffacher, while her husband's name is Werner Stauffacher. Again, the children's names remain Heinrich and Verena Stauffacher.
In Poland
a double surname is generally joined with a hyphen and by law includes only one hyphen.
Polish surnames (nazwisko (N. sg.)), like those in most of Europe, are hereditary and generally patrilineal
, i.e. passed from the father on to his children.
A married woman usually adopts her husband's name. However, other combinations are legally possible. The wife may keep her maiden name (nazwisko panieńskie) or add her husband's surname to hers, thus creating a double name (nazwisko złożone).
A married man can also adopt his wife's surname, or add it to his.
Doubling of surnames is also practiced by the Dutch. A good example would be the name of its famous footballer, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink
. His name derives from the 17th century, when two farming families in the Enschede area of the Netherlands
intermarried. Both the Vennegoor and Hesselink names carried equal social weight, and so — rather than choose between them — they chose to use both. "Of" in Dutch translates to "or" in English, which would mean that a strict translation of his name would read 'Jan Vennegoor or Hesselink'.
In the Philippines and Guam
, a child customarily will carry the mother's maiden name as his middle name and carry the father's surname. When the female marries, she keeps her maiden name and adds the husband's surname, but does not typically hyphenate it. So, when Maria Rose Aguon marries Jose Lujan Castro, her name becomes Maria Rose Aguon Castro and their children will typically be [forename] Aguon Castro.
In the United States, some women drop their second given name on marriage and take their husband's surname as their own, making their maiden surname into a middle name. Thus, Mary Elizabeth Brown marries John Smith and after marriage takes the name Mary Brown Smith. This is not, however, a double-barrelled surname though it is formed in precisely the same way. This woman becomes Mrs. Smith, not Mrs. Brown Smith, and her maiden surname is not inherited by her children as a surname.
In China
, double surnames are not common. In fact, practically all surnames in common use are just one syllable long
, giving, in combination with a 1- or 2-syllable long personal name, a 2- or 3-syllable-long full name. However, in 2007 experts and officials suggested that parents should be encouraged to create two-syllable (two-character) surnames for their children by combining their parents' (one-syllable) surnames; this could make people's names more unique, and "could help solve the problem of widely recurring names".
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
countries, a double-barrelled name is a family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
with two parts, which may or may not be joined with a hyphen
Hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. The hyphen should not be confused with dashes , which are longer and have different uses, or with the minus sign which is also longer...
and is also known as a hyphenated name. An example of a hyphenated double-barrelled surname is Bowes-Lyon
Bowes-Lyon
Bowes-Lyon is a Scottish family; see the following articles for more information, including information on individual members:*Baron Bowes*Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne*Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne*Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon*Gibside...
; an example of an unhyphenated double-barrelled surname is Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
. The term is an analogy with double-barrelled shotgun
Double-barreled shotgun
A double-barreled shotgun is a shotgun or combination gun with two parallel barrels, allowing two shots to be fired in quick succession.-Construction:...
.
Formation
Double-barrelled names may be formed for a variety of reasons. Some are formed when the family names of two people are combined upon marriageMarriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
or civil partnership, thus forming a new two-part surname, or when child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren are given surnames combining those of both parent
Parent
A parent is a caretaker of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is of a child . Children can have one or more parents, but they must have two biological parents. Biological parents consist of the male who sired the child and the female who gave birth to the child...
s. Double-barrelled names may also be used by children who are not brought up by their birth-parents to combine the surname of a birth-parent with that of an adoptive
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
parent, or the surname of their biological father with that of a stepfather. Other families believe that the act of consistently passing on only the father's name is patriarchal
Patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination...
in nature and choose double-barrelled names for feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
reasons. Similarly, same-sex couples
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
may want to emphasise equality between partners. In some cases, children whose parents divorce have both surnames, by parents' choice or their own choice if they are of the required age. To avoid the use of double-barreled surnames, a small number of couples create a new blended surname, combining parts of each name into one, such as Villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa , born Antonio Ramón Villar, Jr., is the 41st and current Mayor of Los Angeles, California, the third Mexican American to have ever held office in the city of Los Angeles and the first in over 130 years. He is also the current president of the United States Conference of...
.
Among nobility, in the past especially, if a woman married down from her social status it was common for her and her husband to use a double-barrelled name. This was done both so as not to diminish the social status of the woman and to gain for her husband a higher social status.
Double-barrelled names are sometimes adopted when the man has a common surname such as Smith or Jones which the couple want to avoid after marriage; hence double-barrelled names often incorporate a common surname. For instance, if Mary Howard married John Smith, they could choose to become Mary and John Howard-Smith (with the man's surname usually going second). In the vast majority of cases, though, they would simply opt for Mary and John Smith.
Some double-barrelled names are formed in order to prevent a family name otherwise dying out, due to the lack of males in a generation or when notable property is inherited through the female line with a stipulation that the individual inheriting use the family name.
For same-sex couples and their families, the presumptions of gender are irrelevant; many agree on one name or another, or combine the two as a double-barrelled name.
In Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, having a non-hyphenated double-barrelled surname is the norm, and in some cases (e.g., Spain) it is actually a legal requirement. See the article on Spanish naming customs for more information.
Upper-class families
A few upper-class families (e.g. Anstruther-Gough-CalthorpeGough-Calthorpe family
The Gough-Calthorpe family is descended from ancient and notable families who both held lands in the area around Birmingham, England.Sir Henry Gough, 1st Baronet, Member of Parliament, was made a Baronet in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom in 1728...
; Cave-Browne-Cave
Cave Baronets
There have been two Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Cave, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Both creations are extant as of 2008....
; Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound
Earl of Minto
Earl of Minto, in the County of Roxburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1813 for Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Baron Minto. The family descends from the politician and judge Gilbert Elliot, who served as a Lord of Session under the judicial title of Lord...
; Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby
Baron Willoughby de Eresby
Baron Willoughby de Eresby is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ in 1313 for Robert de Willoughby of Eresby Manor, near Spilsby, Lincolnshire. The fourteenth Baron was created Earl of Lindsey in 1626. His great-grandson, the fourth Earl and seventeenth Baron, was created...
; Vane-Tempest-Stewart
Marquess of Londonderry
Marquess of Londonderry is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1816 for Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Londonderry. He had earlier represented County Down in the Irish House of Commons. Stewart had already been created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795 and Earl...
) have "triple-barrelled" surnames (sometimes created when one spouse has a double-barrelled name and the other has a single surname). Nowadays, such names are almost always abbreviated in everyday use to a single or double-barrelled version. There are even a few "quadruple-barrelled" surnames (e.g. Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie
Earl of Wharncliffe
Earl of Wharncliffe, in the West Riding of the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1876 for Edward Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 3rd Baron Wharncliffe. He was a descendant of Edward Wortley Montagu and his wife, the authoress Lady Mary Wortley...
, Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis
Baron Clinton
Baron Clinton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1298 for John de Clinton. The peerage was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines. The first Baron's great-great-great-grandson, the fifth Baron, fought on the Yorkist side in the Wars...
, Stirling-Home-Drummond-Moray; Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax
Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax
Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax is the quadruple-barrelled surname of the descendants of Admiral The Honourable Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax , who was the younger son of the 17th Baron of Dunsany by his wife Ernle Elizabeth Louisa Maria Grosvenor Ernle-Erle-Drax, née Ernle...
or the French/English surname Taylor-Jendernai-Eirron de Mountstuart, which is the family name for the Marquis de la Eirron) and the surname of the extinct family of the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos was the quintuple-barrelled Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville. Captain Leone Sextus Denys Oswolf Fraudatifilius Tollemache-Tollemache de Orellana Plantagenet Tollemache-Tollemache is sometimes quoted as the man with the most ever "barrels" in his surname (six), but in fact all but the last two of these (Tollemache-Tollemache) were forenames.
Written form
Many double-barrelled names are written without a hyphen (this can cause confusion as to whether the surname is double-barrelled or not). Notable persons with unhyphenated double-barrelled names include David Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
(born with Lloyd as a middle name, but self-transformed into a double barrelled surname), the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
(although she said the hyphen is optional ), comedian Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies.
One historic early aviator, Alberto Santos-Dumont
Alberto Santos-Dumont
Alberto Santos-Dumont , was a Brazilian early pioneer of aviation. The heir of a wealthy family of coffee producers, Santos Dumont dedicated himself to science studies in Paris, France, where he spent most of his adult life....
, is known to have not only often used an equal sign (=) between his two surnames in place of a hyphen, but also seems to have preferred that practice, to display equal respect for his father's French ethnicity and the Brazilian ethnicity of his mother.
Practices by country
In SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and most Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n countries, everyone has a double surname by law, although they are written without a hyphen and most people use only their first surname in everyday use. When a person is born, the custom is for them to take the first surname of the father and then the first surname of the mother. Thus, when Sr. Julio Iglesias de la Cueva
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
and Sra. Isabel Preysler Arrastía
Isabel Preysler
María Isabel Preysler Arrastía, better known as Isabel Preysler, is a Filipina journalist, socialite, and television host.-Early years:Preysler was born in Manila, Philippines, the third of six children to a wealthy family...
had a son called Enrique, he legally was Enrique Iglesias Preysler
Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias is a Spanish pop music singer, a son of singer Julio Iglesias.Enrique started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa...
. Where the optional conjunction y (and) is used, the example would become "Enrique Iglesias y Preysler" (never used in the case of Enrique Iglesias; see for example José Ortega y Gasset
José Ortega y Gasset
José Ortega y Gasset was a Spanish liberal philosopher and essayist working during the first half of the 20th century while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism and dictatorship. He was, along with Nietzsche, a proponent of the idea of perspectivism.-Biography:José Ortega y Gasset was...
). On the other hand, actual double-barrelled names exist (called apellidos compuestos), such as Cruz-Coke or Pérez de Arce. For example Luciano Cruz-Coke Carvallo
Luciano Cruz-Coke
Luciano Cruz-Coke Carvallo is an actor, founder and director of a nonprofit theater group, and the current Minister of Arts and Culture under President Sebastián Piñera.-Biography:...
is the son of Mr. Carlos Cruz-Coke Ossa and Ms. Lucía Carvallo Arriagada. In every day use Mr. Cruz-Coke Carvallo is Mr. Cruz-Coke, never Mr. Cruz.
In Portugal, where most of the population have two to four surnames (apelidos de família), the practise of using a double combination of surnames is very common. The person can either use a paternal and a maternal surname combined (à la Aníbal Cavaco Silva
Aníbal Cavaco Silva
Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, GCC , is the President of Portugal. He won the Portuguese presidential election on 22 January 2006 and was re-elected on 23 January 2011, for a second five-year term. Cavaco Silva was sworn in on 9 March 2006....
) or use a double last name that has been passed down through one of the parents (António Lobo Antunes
António Lobo Antunes
António Lobo Antunes, GCSE, MD ; born 1 September 1942) is a Portuguese novelist and medical doctor.-Life and career:António Lobo Antunes was born in Lisbon as the eldest of six sons of João Alfredo de Figueiredo Lobo Antunes , prominent Neurologist and Professor, close collaborator of Egas Moniz,...
). The last surname (normally the paternal one) is usually considered the "most important", but people may chose to use another one, often favouring the more sonant or less common of their surnames in their daily or professional life (such as Manuel Alegre
Manuel Alegre
Manuel Alegre de Melo Duarte, GCL , is a Portuguese poet and politician, member of the Socialist Party, and a candidate to the Portuguese presidential election, 2006...
or José Manuel Barroso, who is known in Portugal by his double surname Durão Barroso). The use of more than two surnames in public life is less common, but not unusual (see Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen
Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen
Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen was an award-winning Portuguese poet and writer.Sophia, as she is often referred to in Portugal, was born in Porto to a wealthy aristocratic family. She inherited the surname 'Andresen' from her paternal grandfather, a Danish merchant...
).
In France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
a recent practice, abolished in 2010, was to use two consecutive hyphens
Dash
A dash is one of several kinds of punctuation mark. Dashes appear similar to hyphens, but differ from them primarily in length, and serve different functions. The most common versions of the dash are the en dash and the em dash .-Common dashes:...
, or with a double hyphen
Double hyphen
The double hyphen is a punctuation mark that consists of two parallel hyphens. It is not to be confused with two consecutive hyphens , which usually represents an em dash or en dash...
) to distinguish between recently-formed double surnames and ancient hyphenated family names . The use of double surnames is legal but not customary. Children generally take on their father's surname or, recently, their mother's.
In Canada, especially Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, it is not rare for children born since the 1970s to bear both parents' surnames, with no established rules as to whether the father's or mother's name should come first. (In Quebec, under the provisions of the Civil Code
Civil Code of Quebec
The Civil Code of Quebec is the civil code in force in the province of Quebec, Canada. The Civil Code of Quebec came into effect on January 1, 1994, except for certain parts of the book on Family Law which were adopted by the National Assembly in the 1980s...
enacted in 1980, both spouses must retain their original surnames upon marriage. ) This situation was frequent enough that naming laws had to be amended in the early 1990s when those with double surnames began to marry, and wished themselves to give their children double surnames. In such cases, any combination involving at most two elements of the father's or the mother's surname is permitted.
In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
a double surname is generally joined with a single hyphen. Other types of double surnames are not accepted by restrictive German name law. However, exceptions are made for immigrants
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
and for marriages where the double surname already was the official name of one partner before marriage. A 1993 law forbids anyone having more than two components in their surname. Prior to this, it was permitted for adults (e.g. Simone Greiner-Petter-Memm
Simone Greiner-Petter-Memm
Simone Greiner-Petter-Memm is a German cross country skier and biathlete who competed from 1987 to 1997 in cross country skiing and from 1992 to 2000 in biathlon....
and formerly Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann-Maier-Leibniz
Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann
Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann was a German political scientist. Her most famous contribution is the model of the spiral of silence, detailed in The Spiral of Silence : Public Opinion – Our Social Skin...
) but their children would not inherit the name. The 1993 ban was upheld by the Constitutional Court
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
The Federal Constitutional Court is a special court established by the Grundgesetz, the German basic law...
in 2009. The crew members of the famous First World War light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
were allowed to add the name Emden with a hyphen to their surname as a special honour.
In Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
double surnames are traditionally written with a hyphen and combine the surnames of a married couple with the husband's surname at first place and the wife's at second. This doubled name is called "alliance name" . The first name as such, however, is the official family name, which will be inherited by their legitimate children. So, for example, if Werner Stauffacher is married with Gertrud Baumgarten, both can use the name Stauffacher-Baumgarten. Their children Heinrich and Verena, however, bear only the surname Stauffacher. Prominent bearers of an alliance name are Micheline Calmy-Rey (Federal Minister for Foreign Affaires), Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (Federal Minister for Finance) or Johann Schneider-Ammann (Federal Minister for Economy). Lately, based on feminist pressure, wives have been permitted by law to place their maiden name before the family name. This doubled name is written without a hyphen and is borne by the wife only. So, in the example above, the wife's name is Gertrud Baumgarten Stauffacher, while her husband's name is Werner Stauffacher. Again, the children's names remain Heinrich and Verena Stauffacher.
In Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
a double surname is generally joined with a hyphen and by law includes only one hyphen.
Polish surnames (nazwisko (N. sg.)), like those in most of Europe, are hereditary and generally patrilineal
Patrilineality
Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well....
, i.e. passed from the father on to his children.
A married woman usually adopts her husband's name. However, other combinations are legally possible. The wife may keep her maiden name (nazwisko panieńskie) or add her husband's surname to hers, thus creating a double name (nazwisko złożone).
A married man can also adopt his wife's surname, or add it to his.
Doubling of surnames is also practiced by the Dutch. A good example would be the name of its famous footballer, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink
Jan Johannes Vennegoor of Hesselink is a Dutch footballer, currently playing for PSV Eindhoven. He formerly played for the Netherlands national team as a striker...
. His name derives from the 17th century, when two farming families in the Enschede area of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
intermarried. Both the Vennegoor and Hesselink names carried equal social weight, and so — rather than choose between them — they chose to use both. "Of" in Dutch translates to "or" in English, which would mean that a strict translation of his name would read 'Jan Vennegoor or Hesselink'.
In the Philippines and Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, a child customarily will carry the mother's maiden name as his middle name and carry the father's surname. When the female marries, she keeps her maiden name and adds the husband's surname, but does not typically hyphenate it. So, when Maria Rose Aguon marries Jose Lujan Castro, her name becomes Maria Rose Aguon Castro and their children will typically be [forename] Aguon Castro.
In the United States, some women drop their second given name on marriage and take their husband's surname as their own, making their maiden surname into a middle name. Thus, Mary Elizabeth Brown marries John Smith and after marriage takes the name Mary Brown Smith. This is not, however, a double-barrelled surname though it is formed in precisely the same way. This woman becomes Mrs. Smith, not Mrs. Brown Smith, and her maiden surname is not inherited by her children as a surname.
In China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, double surnames are not common. In fact, practically all surnames in common use are just one syllable long
Chinese compound surname
A Chinese compound surname is a Chinese surname using more than one character. Many of these surnames derive from noble and official titles, professions, place names and other areas, to serve for a purpose. Some are originally non-Han, while others were created by joining two one-character family...
, giving, in combination with a 1- or 2-syllable long personal name, a 2- or 3-syllable-long full name. However, in 2007 experts and officials suggested that parents should be encouraged to create two-syllable (two-character) surnames for their children by combining their parents' (one-syllable) surnames; this could make people's names more unique, and "could help solve the problem of widely recurring names".
See also
- Iberian naming customsIberian naming customsSpanish naming customs denotes the personal appellation practiced in Spain, consisting of a given name followed by two family names . The first surname was traditionally the father's first surname, and the second the mother's first surname...
- Dual namingDual namingDual naming is a policy for the naming of geographical landmarks, in which an official name is adopted that combines two previous names. Usually, the context is a conflict over which of the two previous names is most appropriate....
- List of double placenames
- Double nameDouble nameA double name is a name, typically an agnomen, given to a person either at birth or sometime during youth, that works in tandem with the family name. The tradition has more than likely been in practice for centuries, but is most popular today in the American Deep South...
- Name blending