Ok, I’ve read the page on Spanish naming conventions, and it does allow for variations in the conventions. However, talking with my wife (born in Kentucky, raised in Mexico City) brought up some questions. Last names at birth can get very long, depending on the usage of a person or family.
For example, my wife knew some folks who not only used the normal convention (father’s surname (y) mother’s surname, with or without the “y”), but also included grandparents surnames (making a really long name!).
In another case, my wife dated a guy whose surname was Leon de la Vega y Lagos, alphabetized under “Leon,” because Leon was a component part of the surname, not a personal name. (His prename was Federico.)
My wife’s Mexican documents have Patterson Farmer as the surname, alphabetized under “P.” No “y.” Alphabetized under “P.”
And, while the LNAB can be long, so can the entries of all of the other names used. When we got married, my wife had used her American surname for so long that she hyphenated her surname, Patterson coming first. That’s how the US government knows her, but in common usage she always signs her name without the hyphen. But since she has been known by so many different versions of names, the “other names” field could get long if I was going to be strict with this.
One of the really nice things I like about the formal Mexican naming convention, when they are actually followed, is that genealogy becomes a little bit easier if the convention is followed. However, the convention is not always followed, so much of this becoming a personal choice.
The Spanish naming conventions page does allow for variation. What is not addressed, or I just missed it - a common probability for me! - is whether a Spanish name with a “de” is alphabetized under “de” or what follows.
I guess this is not really a formal question, but a discussion of how we use the variations in Spanish surnames. Takers?