A Spanish Duke and Duchess Have to Rename Their Daughter
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Fernando Fitz-James Stuart, the 17th Duke of Huéscar, and his wife, Sofía Palazuelo, gave an extremely long name to their second child. The Duke of Huéscar is heir apparent to the dukedom of Alba, and with aristocratic lineage apparently comes very long names.
The Spanish aristocrats baptized their second daughter in Seville earlier this month at the Church of San Román, naming her Sofía Fernanda Dolores Cayetana Teresa Ángela de la Cruz Micaela del Santísimo Sacramento del Perpetuo Socorro de la Santísima Trinidad y de Todos Los Santos. (If you count, that name is 25 words and 157 characters, or 11 names long.)
The name is reportedly a tribute to Fernando's grandmother, the 18th Duchess of Alba, who had an astonishing 19 names in her full name: María del Rosario Cayetana Paloma Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Fernanda Teresa Francisca de Paula Lourdes Antonia Josefa Fausta Rita Castor Dorotea Santa Esperanza Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva Falcó y Gurtubay. The late Duchess was also the most titled person in the world.
However, Sofía's name is too long to be registered with the Spanish government; names must be limited to "one compound name" and "two simple ones." According to El País, "The girl will not be able to be registered in the Civil Registry with a string of names that surpass all rules, even though it is a tribute to the deceased Duchess of Alba and other members of the family and includes religious devotions."
As El Plural joked in their coverage, "The dukes of Huéscar baptize their daughter with a name that does not fit in the headline." So, the name on baby Sofía's official state documentation will be different than her baptismal name, but the Duke and Duchess of Huéscar have yet to reveal how they will shorten their daughter's name.
Their first daughter, Rosario, was born in 2021. Her full name was also long, beginning Rosario Matilde Sofía Cayetana Dolores Teresa.
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