Although he was born Daniel Barraza Romero, he reversed his father's and mother's surnames, calling himself Daniel Romero Barraza. That change came about because his mother's family was more important and well-to-do than his father's, and he wanted to seem more important in his little community. Because of that change, his children's paternal surname is shown incorrectly on their birth records as Romero, when it was actually Barraza.