In Spain everyone is born with two last names. The first is your fathers’ (first) last name, and the second is your mother’s (first) last name.
So if I were born in Spain of Spanish parents, my name would be James Patrick Meadows Toombs. But in fact I was born in West Virginia and my name is James Patrick Meadows.
So for two reasons I am called Sr. Patrick. One, it fits the custom of naming. Two, no one wants to pronounce my last name. Meadows would be said may-AH-dos, which means “he pisses” in Spanish.
(From a file dated 19 Feb 2014.)
Patrick Meadows 1934 – 2017.