Oct 9, 2001 03:15
22 yrs ago
48 viewers *
Spanish term

segundo apellido

Spanish to English Bus/Financial
This seems like an easy question, but.... what's the best way to translate this to English in a contract.

Proposed translations

+3
26 mins
Selected

Mother's maiden name

In English, the father's last name is taken as the "legal" surname. But very frequently,in cases such as birth certificates and the like, we must list our full name, this is where the mother comes in and we are obliged to use her name as well.
Peer comment(s):

agree Jeanne Zang
2 hrs
agree Lafuente
2 hrs
agree Jesús Paredes
3 hrs
agree Jackie_A (X) : For a contract I prefer "last name" for apellido" and "mother's maiden name" for "segundo apellido"
4 hrs
disagree mónica alfonso : Be careful! In some countries the mother's goes first and the father's is the second!
9 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks to all! I still have my doubts but this is what the translating agency say's I should use! ;-)"
+1
13 mins

Surname or Second Surname

In this case I personally would leave it as Surname and put the two on the same line. If you really need to translate it, then use Second Surname as you would second or middle name.
Peer comment(s):

agree Consult Couture : Clear & concise. I like it!
7 hrs
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+1
13 mins

full surname or surname

In English surname is used and understood for English single or double-barrelled names.
In this type of document, I woud use
surname.
If you wanted to refer to the person's second rather than their first surname, then you could say "second surname" but normally you would just say suranme.
Good luck.
Sarah.
Peer comment(s):

agree Claire_G : A better explanation than mine
5 mins
Thanks Claire.
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+4
1 hr

Surname(s)

That way, Spanish people, who have two surnames, will put both, while those of us who only have one will not be too confused.
Peer comment(s):

agree Brian Schwarz : I like this answer!
3 mins
agree Karina Fabrizzi
4 hrs
agree Consult Couture : I like this one the best. Good luck.
6 hrs
agree mónica alfonso : or even Family name(s)
9 hrs
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+3
1 hr

mother's maiden name

In American English, we are given only a first, middle and last name (we rarely call it a surname). Some people are given their mother's maiden name as a middle name, which can be confusing. But I believe in Spanish the second last name refers to the mother's maiden name. But often, Latinos in the US will use a multiple last name, with both last names.
Reference:

exp

Peer comment(s):

agree Atacama
1 hr
Thanks!
agree Jesús Paredes
2 hrs
agree Bertha S. Deffenbaugh : Hi, Brian. Here in the States I have also seen: paternal name and maternal name.
3 hrs
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2 hrs

Second name

Most forms we fill ask our second name.
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+2
5 hrs

Surname(s) / Second surname (if any)

I'm agreeing with another responder, but I wanted to give further explanation. If the contract has blank spaces for providing a "primer apellido" and a "segundo apellido", these can be combined into a single space for "surname(s)". This modification will make the contract usable for persons who use either one or two last names. Either situation can arise in either Anglo-American or Hispanic cultures, but as has been pointed out, single surnames are more common in the former, while dual surnames are more common in the latter. If the contract does not lend itself to this solution, you might just put "if any" after "second surname", thus avoiding the problem most English-speaking people would have in trying to come up with a second last name.

The problem with "mother's maiden name" is that this simply does not function as a surname for most of us in the English-speaking world, but is typically a bit of supplementary information used to identify us for legal purposes or for security. For instance, I give this information to my bank to access a teller over the phone, since it's consider virtually "secret" information.
Peer comment(s):

agree Yolanda Broad
2 hrs
agree mónica alfonso : Moreover, it's not polit. corr., as many people have only their mother's surname...
5 hrs
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