4 ms·

> You presumably have a formal name: A B C D, with A and B being your two given names, C and D being your two surnames. Yes, that's right. That is my full lega

> You presumably have a formal name: A B C D, with A and B being your two given names, C and D being your two surnames. Yes, that's right. That is my full legal name. > So what does it say on your ID? Your birth certificate if you have no ID? Same as my full legal name: A B C D. > Does your countries revenue service address you as "Dear A B", "Mr C D", "Dear A", "Mr D" or something else altogether? Well, there is no such thing as "my country" because I'm a dual citizen. Born in Spain, currently living in Canada as a naturalized citizen. That is where the troubles begin, because while in Spain IT systems typically assume people have two surnames, in North America they often assume a single surname. So far it has not a problem when dealing with the various levels of the Canadian government, but for example my bank addresses me as A B C-D due to limitations in their IT infrastructure. Incidentally, in Spain we are typically addressed as A C or Mr. C for brevity, while A B C D would be reserved for formal communications. I hope this answers your questions.

lelanthran 3y ago
> > So what does it say on your ID? Your birth certificate if you have no ID? > Same as my full legal name: A B C D. Right, so your Firstname is A and your Lastname is D. There's no ambiguity there. You're sorted for those forms that ask for firstname/lastname, not for those forms that ask for given/family name.
- david-gpu 3y ago
  > Right, so your Firstname is A and your Lastname is D. There's no ambiguity there. You are offering your own unique technical solution to a cultural problem that has already been solved, and while I admire your confidence, I must explain why it is incorrect. I don't have a "last name", I have two surnames. The notion of "last name" implicitly assumes that there is one and only one surname. As I already hinted at, people in Spain customarily use their first surname as their "last name". That's why 90% of communications address me as A C, even while living in Canada. It is my understanding that the same rule is used in all of Latin America, including Brazil.
- tremon 3y ago
  No, their full family name is C D. If you must abbreviate it, the correct address would be Sr C, not Sr D. There is no way that entering D in a "last name" field would be correct unless you're aiming for passive aggressive obstinacy. To take a famous example: the full name of Rafael Nadal is Rafael Nadal Parera: one given name and two surnames, with the first surname taking precedence.

lelanthran 3y ago

> > So what does it say on your ID? Your birth certificate if you have no ID? > Same as my full legal name: A B C D. Right, so your Firstname is A and your Lastname is D. There's no ambiguity there. You're sorted for those forms that ask for firstname/lastname, not for those forms that ask for given/family name.

david-gpu 3y ago
> Right, so your Firstname is A and your Lastname is D. There's no ambiguity there. You are offering your own unique technical solution to a cultural problem that has already been solved, and while I admire your confidence, I must explain why it is incorrect. I don't have a "last name", I have two surnames. The notion of "last name" implicitly assumes that there is one and only one surname. As I already hinted at, people in Spain customarily use their first surname as their "last name". That's why 90% of communications address me as A C, even while living in Canada. It is my understanding that the same rule is used in all of Latin America, including Brazil.
tremon 3y ago
No, their full family name is C D. If you must abbreviate it, the correct address would be Sr C, not Sr D. There is no way that entering D in a "last name" field would be correct unless you're aiming for passive aggressive obstinacy. To take a famous example: the full name of Rafael Nadal is Rafael Nadal Parera: one given name and two surnames, with the first surname taking precedence.