Many Costa Ricans welcome court ruling that they don't have to use their father's surname first
ABC News
Many Costa Ricans are welcoming a ruling this week by the country's Supreme Court of Justice eliminating the requirement that people use their father’s surname before their mother’s on identification documents
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- Many Costa Ricans on Friday welcomed a ruling this week by the country's Supreme Court of Justice eliminating the requirement that people use their father's surname before their mother's on identification documents.
In Spanish-speaking nations, people usually go by two last names. In Costa Rica, if a man were named José and his father's surname were Suárez and his mother's Ortiz, by law he would have been registered as José Suárez Ortiz. The court’s decision maintains the requirement to use both names, but allows citizens to choose the order, giving them the freedom to put the mother’s first, as in Ortiz Suárez.
On the street in the Costa Rican capital, San Jose, 48-year-old messenger Carlos Barquero said it may be difficult to get over the custom of putting the father's name first.
“But the truth is, it’s right to recognize the mothers and women in our society as well,” Barquero said. “I don't see any problem with people choosing the order."
The court modified a section of civil code mandating the order of the names, following a request for clarification from the country's elections board after a resident came to the board asking to change the order of their name.
