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A double-barrelled name is a type of compound surname, typically featuring two words (occasionally more), often joined by a hyphen. Notable people with double-barrelled names include Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.
In the Western tradition of , there are several types of double surname (or double-barrelled surnameThe term "double-barrelled surname" was in origin used for British double names indicative of (partially) aristocratic background, as in Thomas Innes of Learney, The Clans, Septs and Regiments of the Scottish Highlands (1970), p. 186. Earlier usage prefers "double-barrelled name" in reference to the British double surnames; the more specific "double-barrelled surname" is a recharacterization after the tendency to use "double-barrelled name" for the fashion of hyphenated given names. The term "double-barrelled (sur)name" appears to have been coined in the Victorian era, originally with a sarcastic undertone implying pomposity; e.g.:
But it is now also used more generally of any double surname (an example for this is Azoulai, The Question of Competence in the European Union (2014: 180) using "double-barrelled" to refer to a Danish double surname.
In British tradition, a double surname is heritable, usually taken to preserve a family name that would have become extinct due to the absence of male descendants bearing the name, connected to the inheritance of a family estate. Examples include Rolls family, Stopford-Sackville, and Spencer-Churchill.
In Spanish tradition, double surnames are the norm and not an indication of social status. People used to take the (first) surname of their fathers, followed by the (first) surname of their mothers (i.e., their maternal grandfather's surname). In Spain (since 2000) and Chile (since 2022), parents can choose the order of the last names of their children, with the provision that all children from the same couple need to have them in the same order; the double surname itself is not heritable. These names are combined without hyphen (but optionally using y, which means "and" in Spanish). In addition to this, there are heritable double surnames ( apellidos compuestos), which are mostly but not always combined with a hyphen. Hyphenated last names usually correspond to both last names of one of the parents, but both last names can be hyphenated, so some may legally have two double-barrelled last names corresponding to both last names of both parents. Many Spanish scholars use a pen name, where they enter a hyphen between their last names to avoid being misrepresented in citations.
In German name, double surnames can be 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).
In Wales, many families have double-barrelled surnames. The preponderance of only a few surnames (such as Jones, Williams, and Davies) led to the usage of double-barrelled names in Wales to avoid confusion of unrelated but similarly named people.
Spain's hidalgo families often used double-barrelled names in conjunction with the nobiliary particle "de" (of). Toponymic family such as the surnames García de las Heras, Pérez de Arce, or López de Haro combine a regular family name with the branch of the family. For example, the "López" branch hailing from the Rioja town of Haro, La Rioja. Surnames associated with Spanish nobility follow the same custom, such as Álvarez de Toledo, Ramírez de Arellano, or Fernández de Córdoba. In these cases, the first surname indicates the original name of the family, whereas the second surname denotes the nobiliary fief of that family. In this context, the conjunction "de" (of) reflects that the family used to be the feudal lords of that place. Thus, the Ramírez were the lords of the village of Arellano, in Navarra.
In Portugal, where most of the population have two to four surnames ( apelidos de família), the practice of using a double combination of surnames is very common. The person can either use a paternal and a maternal surname combined (Aníbal Cavaco Silva) or use a double last name that has been passed down through one of the parents (António Lobo Antunes). The last surname (normally the paternal one) is usually considered the "most important", but people may choose to use another one, often favouring the more resonant or less common of their surnames in their daily or professional life (such as Manuel Alegre or José Manuel Barroso, who is known in Portugal by his double surname Durão Barroso). The use of more than two surnames in public life is less common, but not unusual (see Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen). Combined surnames of two gentry families from Portugal are also prevalent, such as Nogueira Ferrão.
One historic early aviator, Alberto Santos-Dumont, is known to have not only often used an equal sign (=) between his two surnames in place of a hyphen but also seems to have preferred that practice, to display equal respect for his father's French ethnicity and the Brazilian nationality of his mother.
In Switzerland, double surnames are traditionally written with a hyphen and combine the surnames of a married couple, with the husband's surname in first place and the wife's second. This double name is called "alliance name" (). The first name as such, however, is the official family name, which will be inherited by their legitimate children. So, for example, if Werner Stauffacher is married to Gertrud Baumgarten, both can use the name Stauffacher-Baumgarten. Their children, however, bear only the surname Stauffacher. Prominent bearers of an alliance name are Micheline Calmy-Rey (former Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs), Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (former Federal Minister for Finance), and Johann Schneider-Ammann (former Federal Minister for the Economy). While it is traditional for the family name to be that of the husband, either name may be chosen, with the person who changes their surname being allowed to add a hyphen to their original name. Alternatively, both partners may keep their own name and choose which of the surnames is passed on to children upon the birth of their first child.
Doubling of surnames is also practised by the Dutch. An example is the name of footballer Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. According to The Guardian, his name derives from "the 17th century, when two farming families in the Enschede area of the Netherlands intermarried. Both the Vennegoor and Hesselink names carried equal social weight, and so – rather than choose between them – they chose to use both. Of in Dutch translates to "or", which means that a strict translation of his name reads Jan Vennegoor or Hesselink." Some of these Dutch surnames also survive in South Africa, for example, the rugby player Rohan Janse van Rensburg's surname is Janse van Rensburg, not just van Rensburg (which is itself an existing surname). In addition, it was common for a wife to be known by her husband's surname (first) and her original/birth name (second) hyphenated. Nowadays, couples can choose any combination of surnames for official use (although their legal name will remain unchanged). It remains most prevalent for the wife either to use a hyphenated surname or her original/birth name. Few husbands use a hyphenated surname. All children of a couple need to go by the same surname (either their father's or their mother's) and will not normally have a hyphenated surname.
To reduce the risk of mistaken identity, many Danes started using their mothers' Maiden name as a heritable middle name (similar to the Russian or Hispanic system), rather than as a second given name (as in the English name). One example is three successive prime ministers of Denmark all sharing the same last name, Rasmussen, so they are usually referred to by their middle name: Nyrup, Fogh, and Løkke.
Currently, the Danish order of names invariably places the patronymic -sen at the end, regardless of whether that name has been passed down by the father or mother, or adopted through marriage. Unlike the Russian or Hispanic systems, this surname-style middle name is not considered a proper last name in official documents, unless hyphenated into one compound name.
Статья 18. Запись фамилии, имени и отчества ребенка при государственной регистрации рождения1. При государственной регистрации рождения фамилия ребенка записывается по фамилии его родителей. При разных фамилиях родителей по соглашению родителей ребенку присваивается фамилия отца, фамилия матери или двойная фамилия, образованная посредством присоединения фамилий отца и матери друг к другу в любой последовательности, если иное не предусмотрено законами субъектов Российской Федерации. Не допускается изменение последовательности присоединения фамилий отца и матери друг к другу при образовании двойных фамилий у полнородных братьев и сестер. Двойная фамилия ребенка может состоять не более чем из двух слов, соединенных при написании дефисом.
Article 18. Recording a child's surname, first name, and patronymic during state registration of birth
1. During state registration of birth, the surname of the child is recorded according to the surname of his parents. With different surnames of the parents, by agreement of the parents, the child is assigned the surname of the father, the surname of the mother, or a double surname formed by joining the surnames of the father and mother to each other in any sequence, unless otherwise provided by the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. It is not allowed to change the sequence of joining the surnames of the father and mother to each other when forming double surnames for full brothers and sisters. The double surname of the child may consist of no more than two words, connected when written with a hyphen.
In 2007, China officials suggested that parents should be encouraged to create two-syllable (two-character) surnames for their children by combining their parents' (one-syllable) surnames; this could make people's names more unique and "could help solve the problem of widely recurring names". Name game: most Chinese use 3 characters, some use 10 or more, Xinhua, 12 December 2007.
The use of the maternal surname as a middle name derives from American influence, with Filipinos adopting English naming customs, when they once used Spanish naming customs, which use two surnames (paternal and maternal) joined with the particle y (or e before ). This still remains in use but is restricted to formal purposes, police records, and legal proceedings. In the original Spanish naming system, the middle name corresponds to the paternal surname, not the maternal one. In the Philippines, this middle name (or the maternal surname) is often abbreviated to a middle initial. Thus, a person with the full name Juan Santos Macaraig may become Juan S. Macaraig, whereas according to the Spanish naming system, they would be Juan Macaraig y Santos.
However, the maternal surname may not always be the middle name. In some cases, a second given name may be abbreviated instead, as is the case for Jose P. Laurel.
In Belgium and Germany, member states of the European Union, courts have refused to register children under the surname given according to a foreign naming tradition."For instance, in Garcia Avello, a case in which Belgium refused to register children of dual nationality with the surname of both parents following the Spanish tradition ... in Grunkin and Paul ... a refused to recognize a child's double-barrelled surname as determined and registered in Denmark, where he lived, because the child was a German national." Loïc Azoulai, The Question of Competence in the European Union, Oxford University Press, 2014, p. 180.
In France, a practice abolished in 2010 was to use two consecutive hyphens (--) (not the same as a "long hyphen" or dash, or with a double hyphen) to distinguish between recently formed double surnames and ancient hyphenated family names (). The use of double surnames is legal but not customary. Children traditionally take on their father's surname (or, more recently, optionally their mother's).
In Canada, especially Quebec, it is common for children born since the 1970s to bear both parents' surnames, with no established rules as to whether the father's or mother's name should come first. (In Quebec, under the provisions of the Civil Code enacted in 1980, A Short History of the Civil Code , Government of Quebec both spouses must retain their original surnames upon marriage.) This situation was frequent enough that naming laws had to be amended in the early 1990s, when those with double surnames began to marry and wished to give their children double surnames. In such cases, any combination involving at most two elements of the father's or the mother's surname is permitted. Section 51 of the Civil Code of Quebec, in LexUM
In Italy, a 2016 court ruling held that the previous law, under which children automatically took their father's surname as long as the parents were married or the father recognised the child, was discriminatory; the government therefore clarified that the mother's surname could also be added if both parents so desired, providing that it followed the father's surname. A further court case in 2022 found that this latter requirement was also discriminatory. Consequently, parents have since been able to give their children one or both of their surnames, in any order.
Finland liberalised their name law in 2017, allowing double surnames in some cases, either hyphenated or as such. A double name can be formed when marrying or having children, combining the surnames of the parents. Double names can be combined by taking one part of each. Either spouse or both can take a double name. Based on a family's foreign name tradition, children can also get surnames based on a grandparent's surname. The former law, from 1985, allowed either taking a spouse's surname and optionally continuing using one's own surname as a hyphen-joined prefix, but formally, a person did not get a double surname, and their children got the spouse's surname.
With the rise of same-sex marriage, many same-sex couples have hyphenated each other's names upon marriage. For instance, American attorney and former chair of the Libertarian National Committee Joe Bishop-Henchman changed his surname from Henchman upon marriage to his husband Ethan Bishop, who also changed his surname to Bishop-Henchman at that time.
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