Yeah - the Spanish way is great. No one changes their name, the kids get a half-and-half, and you don't get this generational accumulation of double barrels that the UK, for instance, is going to face shortly once all the kids whose parents trendily double-barreled start shacking up and having kids.

In Spain, you just snip one off each generation and keep it rolling.

Technically, there is a slightly sexist element to it, in that you are preserving the surnames of the fathers, grandfathers and greatgrandfathers over successive generations.

Although recent legislation allows you to ditch either of your parents' surnames if you want to disown them, or switch the order.

We thought about doing that, so our kids (and grandkids) wouldn't be saddled with my ridiculous surname, which routinely gets mangled in the UK, let alone in Spain. But as my wife has a 'Smith' type extremely common Spanish name, which also has its drawbacks, just went with the traditional approach.

Spanish surname conventions rock.