Can a foreigner change their name and surname in Spain?

There are many reasons why you might want to change your name while you’re in Spain or even soon after you move here.

Maybe your name is very difficult for Spanish people to pronounce and spell correctly and you just want to make it easier. Or maybe your name means something else in Spanish and you’re not comfortable with using it anymore.

So can you legally change it or not?

The answer is in fact very simple and the law is very clear on this point. It states: "The name and surname of a foreigner are governed by their personal law."

This means in Spain you cannot change your name or surname if you’re a foreigner. You can only go back to your country of origin to do so and take the necessary legal steps there.

The only way that you can change part of your name other than that is by becoming a Spanish citizen, therefore you won’t be a foreigner anymore.

You can do this after 10 years of residency in Spain if you’re a citizen of most countries, or two years if you’re a citizen of Ibero-American countries where Spanish or Portuguese is spoken (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela), as well as nationals of the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Andorra or Portugal.

You can also do this after one year of living in the country if you were born here or you marry a Spanish national.

Generally though when you get citizenship you will have to keep your first and last name, but you will be changing it slightly be adding a second last name.

This will generally be your mother’s maiden name, unless only one parent appears on your birth certificate, in which case your last name will be doubled.

READ ALSO: Do I have to use two surnames if I get Spanish citizenship? 

The rule is that the same name as on your foreign certification will be entered into the Spanish birth registration.  

The big caveat is that you may be able to change it if you regularly use different name and can prove it through documentation.

For example, you may use your middle name as your first name, even though your first name is on your original birth certificate.

 If you’re name also violates any other established rules, it must be replaced, in accordance with Spanish regulations, by you or your legal representative.  

What about spellings of names? The law states in regards to the spelling of surnames that they can be adapted to grammar and phonetics of the corresponding Spanish language.  

It’s a simple declaration which you can do at the Civil Registry. Keep in mind though your surname must belong to a vernacular language, and you must be able to prove its exact spelling in this language first. 

There's one other point we should mention - if you're looking to change your surname in Spain after marriage or divorce, there is a way to do so which you can read about in the article linked below.

READ ALSO: How to change your surname after marriage or divorce in Spain