The Use of Spanish Surnames as a Means of Identifying Latinos in the United States and Puerto Rico. Professional Paper No. 22-74.

Responses from 1,613 former servicemen with Spanish surnames were examined to evaluate Spanish surname recognition as a means of identifying persons of Latin American birth or ancestry. Questionnaires were mailed to 5,019 servicemen who had: (1) been inductees or enlistees in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps; (2) left active duty in the first 6 months of 1972; (3) a Reserve military obligation; and (4) a Spanish surname according to one or more procedures. Procedures determining whether a name was Spanish were all computerized. All but one depended on sorting the names alphabetically and comparing each with lists of Spanish surnames. The remaining procedure, developed by Buechley, depended on letter combinations and surname endings. The lists used were: (1) census surnames, (2)"broad" Spanish surnames, (3) "narrow" Spanish surnames, and (4) Morton's Spanish surnames. Although a determination was made via computer as to whether each person had a "narrow" Spanish first name, this fact was used only in the analysis. Some findings were: (1) outside certain areas Spanish surname recognition included a high proportion of persons who did not meet other criteria indicating Latin American birth or ancestry; and (2) within five Southwestern states, increasing proportions of persons who could not be classified as Spanish at increasing education and aptitude levels were included. (NQ)