# Filling out name on forms



## tomwins (Dec 27, 2014)

Just a little background to help you know why I'm asking this question. When I got married we hyphenated our names so my name is no longer my birth name and is not just my father's family name. It is identical to my husband.

I know that how a family name or "last names" are handled in Mexico are different than what we do in the US. I'm facing this issue as we are applying for a credit card for Volaris.

What do US folk do when completing forms and they are asked for Father's and Mother's name (Apellido Paterno y Materno).

So should I use my hyphenated name as my "last name" (Apellido Paterno) even though it is not my father's name?
For Apellido Materno should I use my mother's maiden name?

Thank you for sharing your experience and perspective.

Tom


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

You should not use your mother´s maiden name here in Mexico. You leave that blank. You should put your last name as it is in your passport.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Use the same name as what you have in your passport and do not deviate. Just use your hypenated name under paterno and do not put anything under materno. If the system does not accept the hypeneted name put both names with a space insted of the hypen under paterno.

Not having a mother´s name is legal in Mexico but some systems have to have two names and then you have to call them or put an X
Do not put an x with the banks as some systems will use the X as a name and then the name does not match the passport...

I have an hypenetad first name and most systems do not accept the hyphen...so I have 3 first names , one paternal name and no maternal name . SRE told me only one name was acceptable..


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

citlali said:


> Use the same name as what you have in your passport and do not deviate. Just use your hypenated name under paterno and do not put anything under materno. If the system does not accept the hypenetedname put both names with a space insted of the hypen under paterno.
> 
> Not having a mother´s name is legal in Mexico but som systems have to have two names and then you have to call them or pu an X
> Do not put an x with the banks as some systems will use the X as a name and then the name does not match the passport...
> ...


I have 2 names - first and middle name. I have both on my birth certificate and my Mexican marriage license and only my first name on my US passport.

This caused a problem when going from a Residente Temporal, which had only my first name, to a Residente Permanente in Nov. The Licenciada at our INM office requested a notoraized letter from a US Consulate claiming I am the same person. I had to go to the US Consulate in Guadalajara and get it. I went in yesterday to get my Residente Permanente card/visa and it has only my first name.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Yes it is a good idea to match the birth certificate name as close as possible when getting the passport, any deviation can come back and be a problem later. You can always get a constancia from the consulate saying you are the same person but it is a pain.
In France your married name is a usage name not a legal name so when I became a citizen I had to use my maiden name without my husband´s name at holre as SRE does not accept the de and husband´name as a legal name....although the notario told me it was perfectly legal..

By the way the name I used and that SRE accepted when I became permanente was not accepted by SRE when I became a citizen..go figure.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

AlanMexicali said:


> I have 2 names - first and middle name. I have both on my birth certificate and my Mexican marriage license and only my first name on my US passport.
> 
> This caused a problem when going from a Residente Temporal, which had only my first name, to a Residente Permanente in Nov. The Licenciada at our INM office requested a notoraized letter from a US Consulate claiming I am the same person. I had to go to the US Consulate in Guadalajara and get it. I went in yesterday to get my Residente Permanente card/visa and it has only my first name.


Correction: I have 2 middle names and my birth certificate and Mexican marriage license have both middle names and my first name but my passport only has my first name and one of my middle names. Both my INM resident cards/visa had/have one middle name.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

When I went to Migracion earlier this month to fill out forms, the official pointed to the names block and told me to put in only the father's name. They understand that non-Hispanics legally use only the father's name (well, until recently anyway).


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Alan if you applu for citizenship you will have some problems..SRE insist that passport match birth certificate and match your name on the visa ..Sometimes you can ask for a constancia from your consulate to state tht you are the same person but they are extremely demanding about having all names from all documents matching the names on the birth certificate. Starting the right way and making sure that all the names are consistent saves you headaches later on. I had all kinds of problems with my names not matching because when I came into the country I came from the state and went by my husband name although it did not match my French passport.


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