This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/kRC.2ACE/3672.1.1 Message Board Post: I was born in Cuba...have my genealogy back to the early 1500's and have "Recio" AND "Recio de----" on both sides of my family. CAREFUL to distinguish both: Sometimes the name "Recio" stood by itself as a regular surname other times it was compounded with their regular surname. I have since learnt that de "Recio de" (Leon) was an addition to their regular name when they paid the government to be a Mayorazgo (distinctive title). Example: if your family inherited the Mayorazgo of the Leon family, the name would become "Recio de Leon"......therefore the Recio would take a "life of it's own"