In general, the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world assigns its children two family names at birth. In the case of Spanish-speaking countries, including Chile, the father’s surname comes first and the mother’s second. The father’s family name is the one that each person passes down to his or her offspring. So if my father’s name is Juan Pérez López and my mother’s is Carolina Rodríguez Núñez, and they decide to name me Paula, the Registro Civil would put me down as Paula Pérez Rodríguez.

This naming system is generally well-regarded by the locals here, since it helps distinguish individuals who may share first and last names with many other people, and gives the maternal line an extra generation of legacy.  (That coupled with women maintaining their full birth name after marriage makes the Anglo naming system look pretty machista in comparison.)

The practical result of all of this is that Chile is set up to keep track of people with two last names.  This is perhaps due to the fact that the vast majority of immigrants Chile do have two (according to the 2002 census, over 70% of resident foreign nationals were from Spanish-speaking countries).

But in come the gringos (and, frankly, most of the rest of the world) with their single surnames to mess things up.  Most retail client information systems in Chile require people to have two last names, from banks to pharmacy and supermarket loyalty programs.  If you’re lucky, you can enter a period (.) as a second last name, as my bank did for me, but often the system will require that it be composed of letters.  Previred, the employee benefits payment web site, had me enter “NN” as a last name, and I’m reminded of one particularly frustrating web shopping session every time I get a letter from Falabella addressed to “Rebecca Lee NO TENGO APELLIDO MATERNO”.  Sometimes the employee typing in your information will just repeat your real last name*.

What I find most attractive about the idea of obtaining Chilean citizenship– no joke– is the possibility that it would grant me a segundo apellido.  If you’re a naturalized Chilean of non-Ibero-American origin, do you have two last names now?  Let us know in the comments.

Vocab

• apellido, apellido paterno: (paternal) surname, family name
• apellido de soltera: maiden name
• segundo apellido, apellido materno: maternal surname

* Having identical first and second last names is actually fairly common among Chileans.  Although at first glance it suggests incest, it’s usually the result of undeclared paternity or simply two parents with the same common paternal surname.⇑

Use this page as a jumping-off point for your home government fact-finding missions. You’ll find both local and foreign resources. Something missing? Let us know in the comments.