Did You Change or Hyphenate Your Name?

[Nasturtium 500]

When you got married or were preparing to get married, did you decide to change or hyphenate your name even though traditionally Arab women do not take their husbands' last names?

No. I like my name. I'm not interested in another name.

What was your husband's opinion, if any, regarding the matter?

He said "both are good" and didn't care what I did either way.

[Nasturtium 500]

Everytime i actually let myself think about fun married-life stuff (instead of dreadful USCIS stuff), i think i might like to keep all my names: Given Middle Family Hubbie's. No hyphen, just a bunch of names... is that too much?

The rules may have changed, but last time I checked you can only legally possess (without a hyphen which would count as a compound name) 3 names in the USA. That's why forms, SS, etc all make you pick 3.

ETA: you can have up to 1 legal alias though, so you can continue to call yourself whatever you feel like-- which is especially easy if you're using his name or your maiden or a combo as your alias.

Edited July 4, 2008 by julianna

[Krissy! 0]

I plan to keep my maiden name, but also take his name too (as an alias). Easier for everyone (professionally and personally), plus I like how my name is.

Have discussed this with my honey. He feels honored that I want to take it

I doubt I'd hyphenate the names -- it just doesn't flow together. My last name is a "first name" kinda name, so sometime others think my last name is my first name... eh, does that make sense?

By the way, his last name also has the 'Al' in it. Instead of a dash, it's a dot. I noticed that this was unrecognizable when filing out forms online. *grr*

This may be a stupid question -- Say if someone's name is First Middle Al.Last would his initials be FML or FMA or FMAL? I get a lil confused on that.

[Nasturtium 500]

I plan to keep my maiden name, but also take his name too (as an alias). Easier for everyone (professionally and personally), plus I like how my name is.

Have discussed this with my honey. He feels honored that I want to take it

I doubt I'd hyphenate the names -- it just doesn't flow together. My last name is a "first name" kinda name, so sometime others think my last name is my first name... eh, does that make sense?

By the way, his last name also has the 'Al' in it. Instead of a dash, it's a dot. I noticed that this was unrecognizable when filing out forms online. *grr*

This may be a stupid question -- Say if someone's name is First Middle Al.Last would his initials be FML or FMA or FMAL? I get a lil confused on that.

If it's legally part of his name, then it's FMA.

My last name is also now a first name-- used to be a boys' name, now it's a girls' name. It's very annoying to hear people say, "Oh! You have 3 first names!" My surname has been a surname for almost 1000 years, idiots, and just because some other person decided to make it a first name 60-70 years ago doesn't change the fact that it is still a surname.

[Sassy1natl 0]

I took his last name.

[Donna A 4]

i changed mine also. my husband loved the idea. even his friends in saudi arabia wished their wives could have taken their last names. so it seams they all like it.

[Henna Rose 0]

I won't be changing my name, mainly because I am establishing myself as a writer and filmmaker under my current name. Hubby has no problems with it and jokes about changing his last name to mine

[~Jackie~ 30]

That's a cool idea henna, him taking your name.

[Staashi 371]

Everytime i actually let myself think about fun married-life stuff (instead of dreadful USCIS stuff), i think i might like to keep all my names: Given Middle Family Hubbie's. No hyphen, just a bunch of names... is that too much?

The rules may have changed, but last time I checked you can only legally possess (without a hyphen which would count as a compound name) 3 names in the USA. That's why forms, SS, etc all make you pick 3.

ETA: you can have up to 1 legal alias though, so you can continue to call yourself whatever you feel like-- which is especially easy if you're using his name or your maiden or a combo as your alias.

Actually, my social security card has my first, middle, and husband's double last name. They never made me change anything - and that was the feds...so I assume that the rules have changed.

[Alhamdulillah 0]

The rules may have changed, but last time I checked you can only legally possess (without a hyphen which would count as a compound name) 3 names in the USA. That's why forms, SS, etc all make you pick 3.

I have four legal names (none of which belong to my husband or his family) and all four are on my SS card and DL.

[Krissy! 0]

My last name is also now a first name-- used to be a boys' name, now it's a girls' name. It's very annoying to hear people say, "Oh! You have 3 first names!" My surname has been a surname for almost 1000 years, idiots, and just because some other person decided to make it a first name 60-70 years ago doesn't change the fact that it is still a surname.

Are you sure we're not related? Its the exact same thing for me! Surname used as boy's name and now girl's name!

[AlHayatZween 2]

The rules may have changed, but last time I checked you can only legally possess (without a hyphen which would count as a compound name) 3 names in the USA. That's why forms, SS, etc all make you pick 3.

ETA: you can have up to 1 legal alias though, so you can continue to call yourself whatever you feel like-- which is especially easy if you're using his name or your maiden or a combo as your alias.

Actually, my social security card has my first, middle, and husband's double last name. They never made me change anything - and that was the feds...so I assume that the rules have changed.

interesting... i'm always interested in hearing what decisions others have taken and how they arrived at their decisions. thanks for sharing!

hmmmmmmmm... i will have to read up on it because i don't like the idea of a hyphen, but i didn't know there was a legal limit to how many names you had... i just remember having professors in college with four or five names, and they used all of them in formal instances... hmmmm...

hey, does anyone remember the 'Friends' episode, where Phoebe changes here name to Princess Guadalupe Something Something... and her husband changes his name to Sh*tbag, or something like that?

Edited July 4, 2008 by AlHayatZween

[tammy2688 1]

I have not changed my name. My husband was saying how much different it is here that changing names is so common.

[Nasturtium 500]

The rules may have changed, but last time I checked you can only legally possess (without a hyphen which would count as a compound name) 3 names in the USA. That's why forms, SS, etc all make you pick 3.

I have four legal names (none of which belong to my husband or his family) and all four are on my SS card and DL.

Good! it used to just be 3 legal names-- I never understood why you couldn't have unlimited legal names, but then maybe just limit what you put on a form, you know? But I think your birth certificate should be able to have whatever you want on it. A lot of cultures want more than 3 names.

[Nasturtium 500]

Are you sure we're not related? Its the exact same thing for me!

We may be! techincally, everyone who has this name by blood is related. Could this name story involve an example from Fleetwood Mac?