Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question about Spanish nationality
Does anyone know of any cases where someone has received Spanish nationality and hasn’t had to change their last name? I’m working to avoid putting my mother’s father’s last name on my new Spanish birth certificate and it’s proving to be challenging.
It’s under a bit of time pressure as I’m going to the Jura on Friday. Thanks in advance for not suggesting that I just accept the name.
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These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
“I have heard (I don’t know for sure) that you can put whatever you want for your second apellido- the traditional practice is your mother’s family name, but it’s not technically a legal requirement.”
“As far as I understand you can put any second last name. I didn’t want to do the same and while in the end I did it no one questioned what name I put down or why. So in theory you could put anything.”
“I was forced to use my mother’s maiden name, no option possible as it was on my birth certificate.”
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Explore Cities →“I had this discussion and they specifically asked for my mother’s maiden name.”
“From what I’ve heard, you have 2 options, put your mother’s maiden name, or you can just put your last name twice, and that’s acceptable as well. I have a friend who has his dad’s last name twice cause they didn’t want to add his mom’s maiden name.”
Read this related article: “How can I change my name on the Spanish NIE?“
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