 But in reality an individual can be referred to by any number of his or her surnames as the occasion may require.For example, Rodríguez Zapatero could also be referred to as

Additional surnames refer to grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and so forth.The number of surnames a person has is theoretically unlimited though it is rare to use more than a few (and indeed an individual may not know more than a few of his or her ancestors' names).