The Spanish language is the second most used language in the world. With 329 million native speakers, Spanish ranks as the world's No. 2 language in terms of how many people speak it as their first language, it is slightly ahead of English. Spanish names and surnames are used not only in Spain, but also in the many Spanish-speaking regions of Latin America. The Spanish language became the official language in Spain due to efforts by King Alfonso in the 13th century to standardize the Spanish language for official use. By the time Columbus came to the Western Hemisphere in 1492, Spanish had reached the point where the language as spoken and written would be easily understandable today.Today in most Spanish speaking countries Last names come from both the mother and the father. This book contains a list of over 1000 Masculine Spanish First Names, and over 7900 Spanish Surnames. This book may help persons doing research or wanting to use old Spanish names with correct spellings and accent marks. Includes bibliographical references