I too have come across instances in the 1500s and
1600s where some siblings took on the surname of their
father and others, their mother's. I have heard some
of the following explanations to account for this:

1)Perhaps their mother's line was more distinguished,
particularly if she was the daughter or grandaughter
of someone famous;

2)Perhaps their father had committed some crime and
some of his children did not want to be associated
with his name;

3)Perhaps the father's line/surname was associated as
being Sephardic and some children wished to disguise
this fact, particularly when the Inquisition came to
Mexico.

Or perhaps it really was not that big a deal back then
to take on one parent's name over the other. I imagine
for most of the Spanish conquistadores and immigrants,
coming to the New World must have been a fluid time in
terms of identity--it was a rare chance to remake
themselves.

Chris Pineda   

--- Arturo Ramos <arturo.ramos2@...> wrote:

> Linda:
> 
> I got some persepective on this issue from Mssrs. de
> la Torre Berumen 
> and Valdes Salazar while I was down in Mexico.
> 
> Apparently, soon after the Mexican independence,
> President Vicente 
> Guerrero (who was mulatto) decreed that all
> Spaniards be expelled from 
> Mexico.  In reality, many were exempted but
> certainly all of those who 
> had been loyalists during the war of independence
> and those that had 
> royal ties (since Mexico was now a republic) were
> expelled.
> 
> Those Spanish families that remained became weary of
> being labeled 
> Spanish and particularly loyalists or royalists and
> thus those 
> with "composed names" such as "Carlos y Godoy" or
> "Fernandez de Jara 
> Quemada" quickly dropped parts of their names to
> mexicanize them.  I 
> think it was somewhat arbitrary which parts they
> dropped.
> 
> On a similar note, I would appreciate hearing any
> perspectives people 
> may have about how children chose whether to take on
> the mother's 
> family name vs. the father's family name.  I have
> run across many 
> instances, particularly in the 17th century where
> children of the same 
> family took on different names, i.e. some siblings
> took on the father's 
> name "Covarrubias" and other siblings in the same
> family took on the 
> mother's name "De La O" so you have siblings with
> different last names.
> 
> --- In ranchos@yahoogroups.com, "Erlinda
> Castanon-Long" 
> <longsjourney@y...> wrote:
> >
> > I'm hoping you can help me with double surnames. 
> Is there a 
> > difference when they use De or Y? Such as Alvares
> del Castillo or 
> > Ochoa y Garibay?  How long did they usually keep
> the double surname?  
> > I haven't found a reason why some families ended
> up using the surname 
> > they chose.. Villasenor y Jaso, some went
> Villasenor and others went 
> > Jaso.. same family!
> > 
> > I have gone from records in Tamazula Jalisco to
> Chilchota Michoacan.  
> > So many families from that part of Jalisco came
> from this area of 
> > Michoacan in the later 1700's.  In doing marriage
> records from there 
> > I'm finding it not unusual to have the actual
> marriage in the home of 
> > a family member, was that normal for the mid
> 1750's?
> > Linda in Everett
> >
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 



		
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