<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (May 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (May 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> In the Western tradition of surnames, there are several types of double surname (also double - barrelled surname). If the two names are joined with a hyphen, it may also be called a hyphenated surname . </P> <Ul> <Li> In British tradition, a double surname is heritable, and mostly taken in order to preserve a family name which would have become extinct due to the absence of male descendants bearing the name, connected to the inheritance of a family estate . Examples include Harding - Rolls and Stopford Sackville . </Li> <Li> In Hispanic tradition, double surnames are the norm, and not an indication of social status . A person will take the (first) surname of their father, followed by the (first) surname of their mother (i.e. their maternal grandfather's surname). The double surname itself is not heritable . These names are combined without hyphen (but optionally combined using y "and"). In addition to this, there are heritable double surnames (apellidos compuestos) which are combined with a hyphen . </Li> <Li> In German tradition, double surnames are taken upon marriage, written with or without hyphen, combining the husband's surname with the wife's (more recently the sequence has become optional under some legislations). These double surnames are "alliance names" (Allianznamen) and as such not heritable . </Li> </Ul>

What does it mean to have a hyphenated name
find me the text answering this question