Since 2000, newborns in Spain can be registered with the mother's last name in the first place if it is what both parents had decided, but in case of not expressly requesting it or if there was no agreement, the last name of the mother had preference father.
But now it will be different. On June 30, the Civil Registry reform takes effect, which establishes that when registering a newborn, the father's last name will no longer have preference in the first place, but both parents must agree on the order of the last names.
Mutual agreement
With the entry into force of the new law, the default option disappears and it is obliged that the parents expressly state the order of the surnames in the application for registration in the Civil Registry.
It is intended in this way that there is equality between father and mother and that the last name of the children is not imposed by default, but is the result of the civilized agreement between their parents.
The General Directorate of Registries and Notaries of the Ministry of Justice foresees that in most cases there will be an agreement between the father and the mother in the order of last names, so it will not cause delays or greater workload.
It is hoped that most couples will agree on the best option depending on the particular situation of each family. The most common criteria for deciding which last name to put first are:
Than the way in which the last names combine are badly sounding and decide to invest them.
Prefer a more striking or less frequent first name.
Give preference to the last name you want to prevail: although now it would stop making sense since you can always choose. But years ago, having a boy was the only way to guarantee the continuity of the family name.
If there is no agreement ...
If the order is not recorded, or the parents disagree, after a period of three days It will be the person in charge of the Civil Registry who establishes said order attending to the best interests of the child, but not by default the father's.
What can the person in charge of the Civil Registry take into account to choose the order of surnames? It will be established according to the alphabetical order, by lottery or aesthetics, that is, it sounds better in combination with the name.
The same order for all children
It is important to know that the order that is decided for the first child will also prevail for the next ones. If you have more children, they should follow that same order.
However, when the children reach the age of majority they may decide to change the order of last names imposed by their parents. This can lead to siblings with different order of surnames.
Although few people know it, the law also offers the possibility of changing names and surnames, so that the use of both parents' last names can be established as the first compound last name in order to avoid the disappearance of a last name, as well as the change of last name when it is contrary to decorum or causes serious inconvenience.
Avoid losing your mother's last name
Spain is one of the few countries that retain the last names of the two parents, since in many others like the US or the United Kingdom, children carry only one of the two, usually the father's last name, losing that of the mother.
