Family names (calling people names)

[Sonia Gutiérrez]

My family name –Gutiérrez- is very common in Spain. I think it’s in the “top ten” of family names of this country. The “-ez” ending means “son”. For example, González means Gonzalo’s son, Fernández means Fernando’s son, and so on.
Family names’ are used in formal situations, normally, when it’s the first time you meet someone or in working ambience.
There is a important difference between family name after the title “señor” o “señora” –that is a polite expression- and family name without any title before –more colloquial, often used between colleagues-. My father and my brother are both known as “Guti” (short name of Gutiérrez) in their jobs. Sometimes, this is so habitual that you can even forget which someone’s first name is!