Friday, July 18, 2025

Querétaro baby is first to be given two maternal surnames

A baby girl in Querétaro has become the first minor in that state to have two surnames derived from two maternal last names.

In Mexican convention, most people have two surnames: the first, from the person’s father and the second, from the mother. Each parent passes on surnames from their own fathers.

But baby Luna’s surnames are different. She bears her parents’ maternal (second) surnames, passed down from each of her grandmothers.

As of Wednesday, the legal name of the daughter of Mariel Aragón Rangel and Miguel Pérez Cabrera is Luna Rangel Cabrera. Traditionally her name would have been Luna Pérez Aragón.

Luna’s parents had to obtain a court order to be able to name their daughter as they wished because Querétaro is one of six states where there is a legal requirement for the surnames of children to be the paternal last names of their father and mother in that order.

Their initial attempt to obtain a birth certificate was rejected in November. They subsequently hired a lawyer who filed an application for an injunction, which was granted in January.

Aragón and Pérez told the newspaper Milenio that the law in Querétaro should be changed because as things stand it discriminates against women.

“We’re not talking about surnames that are … someone else’s; they’re our own surnames but those of our mothers,” Pérez said.

The Supreme Court ruled last December that it is unconstitutional to oblige babies to be registered with their father’s paternal surname first followed by that of their mother.

“Are fathers superior to mothers? Are men superior to women? They’re equal before the law; they are equal before their children. They deserve the same dignity,” Chief Justice Arturo Zaldívar said in a video message at the time.

With reports from Milenio and Infobae

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Sheinbaum displays a Finabien bank card

Mexicans in US can avoid remittance tax with government Finabien cards, Sheinbaum says

0
The government is also updating consular services for Mexicans in the U.S., eliminating filing fees and allowing online appointment scheduling.
A man stands by an open suitcase in an airport revision area

Foreign national caught with over a million pesos of ketamine in Cancún airport

0
Officials confiscated 2 kilograms of ketamine, a controlled substance in Mexico.
two people walkin gby a for rent sign

Can rent control stop gentrification? Mexico City officials plan to find out

9
Political leaders in the nation's capital have reached into their anti-gentrification toolkit and come up with an approach that goes straight to the heart of the problem.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity