Sobrenomes

I wonder how ‘obvious’ it is for people familiar with both Spanish and Portuguese to realise that the family names of Portuguese and Spanish speakers run in reverse — that is, for Portuguese speakers it’s mother’s surname(s) + father’s surname(s), while for Spanish speakers it’s father’s surname(s) + mother’s surname(s). If João Fernandes de Sousa marries Patrícia Rodrigues Ferreira, they may have a son called Henrique Ferreira de Sousa; if Juan Hernández Sosa marries Patricia Rodríguez Herrera, they may have a son called Enrique Hernández Rodríguez.

Sure, the above doesn’t go into all the details of how many (sur)names are possible or usual in different countries, how strictly the order has to be followed, etc.