Draft:Hispanic naming customs

Hispanic names are a traditional way of identifying individuals in Spain, Hispanic America and other countries and territories that have historically been under Spanish influence such as Western Sahara, Equatorial Guinea, and the Phillipines . In most cases they are composed of a given name (simple or composite) and two surnames (the first surname of each parent). A middle name may also occur.

Examples

Lionel Messi Born: Rosario, Argentina (1987) Jorge Horacio Messi Pérez Celia María Cuccittini Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini Your note about Lionel’s names goes here.		Gabriel García Márquez Born: Aracataca, Colombia (1927) Gabriel Eligio García Luisa Santiaga Márquez Iguarán Gabriel José García Márquez Your note about García Márquez’s names goes here.
Enrique Iglesias Born: Madrid, Spain (1975) Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva María Isabel Preysler Arrastía Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler Your note about Enrique’s names goes here.		Simón Bolívar Born: Caracas, Venezuela (1783) Juan Vicente Bolívar y Ponte María de la Concepción Palacios y Blanco Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Ponte y Palacios Blanco Your note about Bolívar’s names goes here.

Underline = given name • Blue = paternal surname/s • Red = maternal surname/s

• neither underlined or colored = middle name/s

History

Before Roman conquest, Iberian and Celtiberian societies relied on their own single‑name systems, where names were often drawn from nature, geography, or theophoric elements. With Rome’s arrival in the 2nd century BCE, the Latin praenomen gradually appeared in Hispania. The earliest Latin intrusions are isolated praenomina—Tiberius and Lucius—recorded at Emporion between 199 and 150 BCE . Within a few generations, Iberian magistrates began pairing a Latin praenomen with a Roman gentilicium. Names like Cornelius Niger, L. Aemilius, M. Iunius, M. Fulvius, C. Aelius, and C. Cornelius are found throuhough Hispania and likely born by indigenous elites taking Roman names . During the Late Republic Iberian officials began to append a Latin filiation—M. f. “son of Marcus,” Lubbi f. “son of Lubbus,” and the like—to signal descent in a recognisably Roman way. As well, native elites were experimenting with Latin epigraphic conventions while keeping their own clan names intact.In 87 BCE six magistrates at Contrebia Balaisca furnish clear examples: each retains an Iberian gentilicium in –cum (e.g., Lubbus Urdinocum or Segilus Annicum) yet follows it immediately with a Roman‑style patronymic such as Lubbi f. When Caesar and later Augustus distributed citizenship on a large scale, naming habits shifted again. During this period a switch to the full three‑part names and the sudden fashion for declaring a Roman tribe directly occurs. Newly minted citizens often showcased the tribe of their patron; the two favourites were Galeria and Quirina. The tria nomina starts becoming more common. . Even after citizenship had become common, Early Spanish communities did not abandon variety. Among 198 dated municipal inscriptions between 1 and 50 CE, 125 employ the canonical tria nomina—about sixty per cent—but the rest still use duo nomina, single indigenous names or hybrid forms. Vespasian’s grant of Latin Rights (*73 CE) accelerated uniformity. In the years 50–99 CE, the tria nomina eclipsed all rivals Perhaps the most distinctively provincial habit was turning the adoptive suffix –ianus into a tribute to one’s mother: sons like Catinius Canidianus or Cassius Arrianus formed a new cognomen from the maternal nomen. This quiet matrilineal signal cut across the strictly patrilineal rules of old Rome and preceedes the later forms of hispanic names using a paternal and maternal last name .