Mexican Names - How to address someone?

Question

I know that Mexicans append family names when they are married but how would you address them? For example if I met José María Velasco Gómez, would he be Sr. Gómez or Sr. Velasco?

Answer 1

The MOTHERS name is always last.  So  if the name is Victor Roman Lopez Garcia...Victor Roman are his given names, Lopez is his fathers last name and Gomez is his mothers last name.  you would call him Senor Lopez.  It is confusing to Americans because the "last name" isn't the last one in the name.  In your example, he would be Senor Velasco.

Answer 2

Sr. gomez

Answer 3

There are quite a few considerations here.... I'll try to list some of them.  The first thing to remember is that when writing the two "last names," the father's first last name is always first.

Let's start out with a man we'll call Juan Jose Rodriguez Gomez.  Normally, you would address him as Senor Rodriguez.  If he presented a business card to you, or you read about his wedding in the paper, you might see it written as "Licenciado" or "Lic." Rodgriguez if he had a university degree, or if he were an engineer it might be "Ingenero" or "Ing." Rodriguez.

If Juan Jose had a a sister, Maria Carmen Rodriguez Gomez, she would be addressed as Senorita Rodriguez.  Again, if she had a university degree, or was an engineer, her business cards or wedding announcement might use that title in place of Senorita.

Now let's say that Maria Carmen Rodriguez Gomez marries Francisco Jaime Gomez Martinez.  If Maria were then to write out her full name, she could use  Maria Carmen Rodriguez Gomez de Gomez, indicating that she had married a Gomez.  She could be called Maria Carmen Rodriguez de Gomez (using her paternal last name and married name) or sometimes she might just use her maiden name and only her father's last name -- Maria Carmen Rodriguez -- I have female friends who have done all of these versions.  Of course, if she were in a business situation, she might put "Lic." or "Ing." in front of either of those to indicate her degree!  But, in general, she might still just be addressed as Senora Maria Carmen Rodriguez (with the Senora indicating that she is married, but then using her own maiden names!) or she might use Senora Maria Carmen Rodriguez de Gomez!

Now.... Maria and Francisco have children.  Children will take the paternal names of both parents, with the father's first.  So, when Maria and Francisco have a baby daughter named Lourdes Maria, her full name will be Lourdes Maria Gomez Rodriguez.  Children will thus have different "last names" than their parents, as their last names are created by combining the parents' pre-marriage last names!

It is also quite common for not only the father to name a son after himself, but also for mothers to do the same!  So you might have a mother named "Luz Maria" and a daughter named "Luz Maria."  BUT... the last names would be different as the mother would have her father's and mother's last names and the same with the daughter -- so it might be that the mother is Luz Maria Rodriguez Sanchez and the daughter would be Luz Maria Gomez Rodriguez.  In the case of a father naming a son after himself, the father might be Juan Jose Martinez Sanchez, and the son would be Juan Jose Martinez Gomez (most likely the mothers' paternal names would have been different).

This is probably more than you would ever want to know about names.  I have found the best way to deal with the intricacies of names in Mexico is to ask a good friend or business acquaintance how I should address a specific person.  In general, it is better to err on the side of being too "formal" and then allow the individual to suggest a less formal name, or even a nickname by which they would like to be addressed.

Answer 4

The way you wrote is:

Jose Maria = Name

Velasco = Fathers last name

Gómez = Mother's last name

The Fathers last name is always first.

Answer 5

If Velasco is his MOTHER'S name then you would use Gomez, his father's name.

Answer 6

Well, some people pick and choose which they go by, so it's hard to tell, but it's been my experience that they use the first of their two names. I would go with Sr. or Sra. to be safe. LOL