 This custom is not seen in the Hispanic world as being a true compound surname system "per se", since it is widely understood that the first surname denotes one's father's family, and the second surname denotes one's mother's family.So "Rodríguez Zapatero" is not considered one surname; it is two distinct surnames.Given that it is not a true compound surname, his children do not inherit the "compound" surname "Rodríguez Zapatero".