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This is an exhaustive review of the development of Spanish surnames in Latin America and the Hispanic United States where there are obvious links between Latin American and Spanish families. (The word Hispanic refers to persons born in Latin America or the U.S. whose parents spoke Spanish and whose principal cultural background was Spanish; Latin America refers to those countries south of the U.S. border, including Puerto Rico and Cuba; and the phrase Hispanic United States refers historically to California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida.)

One of the principal aims of the book is to show the dispersion and commonality of Hispanic surnames throughout the Americas, with studies showing: (1) the top 1,000 Hispanic surnames in the U.S. and Latin America; (2) l,500 surnames studied by the Institute of Genealogy and History for Latin America (sponsors of this work); (3) the 12,567 Hispanic surnames in the 1980 U.S. census; and (4) surnames unique to particular Latin American countries.

At the very heart of the book is a bibliography of Hispanic family histories in the U.S. and Latin America, certainly the most extensive list of its kind ever compiled.


EDITORIAL REVIEWS

"This volume is packed with information about surnames. Its bibliography of Hispanic family histories is extensive and one-of-a-kind."--COLONIAL LATIN AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW (Summer 1998), p. 350.

"Libraries which take pride in the comprehensiveness of their reference collections will find Lyman Platt's work a welcome addition."--FEDERATION OF GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES FORUM, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Spring 1997), p. 47.

"Hispanic Surnames is recommended for libraries with genealogical collections and an interest in Hispanic studies."--AMERICAN REFERENCE BOOKS ANNUAL, Vol. 28 (1996), p. 165.

"...it serves as a useful guide to material already in print."--THE NEW YORK GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, Vol. 127, No. 3 (July 1996).

"[Platt's] pathbreaking work is essential purchase for homes and libraries with an interest in Hispanic biography, culture, genealogy, and history."--LIBRARY JOURNAL (May 15, 1996).