A lot of comments but no-one seems to have addressed my real question and that is what happens in generation two or three when everybody already has hyphenated names from generation 1 and they want to have kids or get married do the hyphens keep adding on?

Mexicans have a tradition to follow.

For Americans that made up their name for the current generation and the next generation will make up their names. There's no plan.

quote:

How do hyphenated names work

They don't work right from the beginning and get worse every generation

Only exception I could think of is if her last name is sandwich and yours is maker.

I’ve seen hyphenated names a lot in the NFL, but no where else. I’ve always wonder what that meant. Only one I can think of right now is Donovan Peoples-Jones. Even after reading this thread, still not sure what it means.

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Originally posted by BMR:
No normal, non-beta man would allow his child to have a hyphenated name. It’s not surprising that SBF has a leftist college professor father and mother.

This. If she won't submit to you, take your last name, or allow you to lead your family she belongs to the streets. Leave her there.
Sorry for not being able to answer your original question, op.

quote:

Originally posted by ibanda:
Mexicans have a tradition to follow.

For Americans that made up their name for the current generation and the next generation will make up their names. There's no plan.

Well, imagine picking up a Mexican phone book, and trying to find the number of someone named Juan Rodriguez. At least with Juan Rodriguez-Garcia you'd have a slightly better chance of finding their number.

What about circumstances like when your in school and everyone gets called on in alphabetical order, which last name is used?

quote:

Originally posted by straightshooter01:
A lot of comments but no-one seems to have addressed my real question and that is what happens in generation two or three when everybody already has hyphenated names from generation 1 and they want to have kids or get married do the hyphens keep adding on?

If a hyphenated person gets married to another hyphenated person and they can't figure out a reasonable solution they deserve each other. Saddling their kid with four last names should be considered a form of child abuse, but I've never even heard of it happening.

A traditional practice in Latin American countries. In recent decades many Latinos in this area have been correcting spellings of their family names to reflect the proper historic spellings (Vaca to Baca, Autobees to Ortiviz, others). Also, adding the prefix "de" (literally meaning of or from), such as Baca to de Baca, Herrera to de Herrera, others.

Several generations of a family's names provide a sort of pedigree, establishing interconnections between extended families and communities.

Can be a bit confusing to non-Hispanics, but important to many of the families who have been in the Southwest since the 16th Century or so, with lineage established to early Spanish explorers, Conquistadores, and royal houses.

In the US hyphenating is more of a trendy thing of the past 40 years or so. Very much a part of the feminist movement, women retaining surname when marrying, sometimes hyphenating the two surnames as a means of announcing how hip, cool, trendy, and "with it" they are.

About 12 years ago I had a young woman working for me. Very sharp person, good worker, detail oriented, always pleasant. When she married her new spouse took her last name; apparently had very bad credit and some other reputational issues related to his family. Couple of years later he took off, left her with a toddler, deeply in debt, house in foreclosure, and her credit rating ruined.

Some practices can cut more than one way.