Spain drops ‘sexist’ baby-naming tradition

THE Spanish convention of giving children their father’s surname followed by their mother’s has been upended by a law aimed at gender equality, with parents now able to decide which family name takes prime position.

The law – aimed at “absolute equality between progenitors”, according to the Ministry of Justice – requires parents to decide within three days of the birth which surname will come first. If they cannot agree, an official will take the decision for them.

Yolanda Besteiro, president of Spain’s Federation of Progressive Women, welcomed the move, which she said “fits with the reality of the times”.

“It’s an advance towards equality. There was no reason that justified the prevalence of the father’s surname beyond the sexist tradition,” she told news agency Europa Press.

Spanish parents have since 1999 been able to request that the mother’s surname goes first. However, it is a complicated process, with both parties required to give permission.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of families doing so has doubled over the past seven years, to 2,953 in 2016, less than one per cent.