<P> Sometimes a father transmits his combined family names, thus creating a new one e.g., the paternal surname of the son of Javier (given name) Reyes (paternal family name) de la Barrera (maternal surname) may become the new paternal surname Reyes de la Barrera . De is also the nobiliary particle used with Spanish surnames . This cannot be chosen by the person, as it is part of the surname, for example "Puente" and "Del Puente" are not the same surname . </P> <P> Children take the surnames of both parents, so if the couple above had two children named "Andrés" and "Ana", then their names would be "Andrés Gómez Reyes" and "Ana Gómez Reyes". In Spain, a 1995 reform in the law allows the parents to choose whether the father's or the mother's surname goes first, although this order must be the same for all their children . For instance, the name of the son of the couple in the example above could be either "Andrés Gómez Reyes" or "Andrés Reyes Gómez". Sometimes, for single mothers or when the father would or could not recognize the child, the mother's surname has been used twice: for example, "Ana Reyes Reyes". In Spain, however, children with just one parent receive both surnames of that parent, although the order may also be changed . In 1973 in Chile, the law was changed to avoid stigmatizing illegitimate children with the maternal surname repeated . </P> <P> Some Hispanic people, after leaving their country, drop their maternal surname, even if not formally, so as to better fit into the non-Hispanic society they live or work in . Dropping the paternal surname is not unusual when it is a very common one . For instance, painter Pablo Ruiz Picasso and Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero are known by their maternal surnames as "Picasso" and "Zapatero". Similarly, Anglophones with just one surname may be asked to provide a second surname on official documents in Spanish - speaking countries . When none (such as the mother's maiden name) is provided, the last name may simply be repeated . </P> <P> Traditionally in most countries, and currently in some Spanish - speaking countries, women, upon marrying, keep their own family names . It is considered impolite towards her family for a woman to change her name . The higher class women of Cuba and Spain traditionally never change their names . In certain rare situations, a woman may be addressed with her paternal surname followed by her husband's paternal surname linked with de . For example, a woman named Ana García Díaz, upon marrying Juan Guerrero Macías, could be called Ana García de Guerrero . This custom, begun in medieval times, is decaying and only has legal validity in Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Peru, Panama, and to a certain extent in Mexico (where it is optional but becoming obsolete), but is frowned upon by people in Spain, Cuba, and elsewhere . In Peru and the Dominican Republic, women normally conserve all family names after getting married . For example, if Rosa María Pérez Martínez marries Juan Martín De la Cruz Gómez, she will be called Rosa María Pérez Martínez de De la Cruz, and if the husband dies, she will be called Rosa María Pérez Martínez Vda . de De la Cruz (Vda . being the abbreviation for viuda, "widow" in Spanish). The law in Peru changed some years ago, and all married women can keep their maiden last name if they wish with no alteration . </P>

Where does the last name blevins come from