Last names - who's changing?

[Kajikit 65]

We thought about making a 'new name' using my mother's maiden name to honour my much-loved grandparents (they had six daughters and one son and he's a life-long bachelor, so there are no more 'Reids' in the world ) but it was too much paperwork hassle to take a 'different' name, when we'd already had more than enough! So I did the conventional thing and took his - I don't mind, but it would have been nice to be able to do something different...

[Karen_L 1]

I will change mine after our family wedding. I really, really like my last name though, so I'm kind of sad to see it go. But his is cool too, and, like mine, all ethnic and southern European and apparently, it means "Yogurt" in Albanian.

[*Robert* 2]

well certainly not me!!!

[sparkofcreation 0]

We thought about making a 'new name' using my mother's maiden name to honour my much-loved grandparents (they had six daughters and one son and he's a life-long bachelor, so there are no more 'Reids' in the world ) but it was too much paperwork hassle to take a 'different' name, when we'd already had more than enough! So I did the conventional thing and took his - I don't mind, but it would have been nice to be able to do something different...

I really wished I lived in a state where they had a spot on the marriage certificate for "Bride's Name After Marriage" and "Groom's Name After Marriage." Would have been far simpler. I think Virginia does that (I mean, a lot of states do, but I've known people in Virginia who changed to a made-up name that way).

My advisor in grad school married her husband and hyphenated her name. Then he and the kids got sick of the name (it was a cause of much teasing) so they had their name changed to his mother's maiden name. My advisor wanted to go back to just her maiden name and they told her she could only do that if she got divorced! But she didn't want to take the new last name. So now she has a double-barreled last name, and neither of them is her husband's/kids' name! (She just goes by her maiden name, though. But legally, she still has the double name.)

I don't think I'd have hyphenated my name if my maiden name weren't one syllable (G's name is two).

[Fandango 1,439]

I'm changing mine to his, no hyphens no nothing.

I hyphenated before and it was such a pain in the azz & kinda made me feel like I was keeping it to keep some separation between us. Almost as if I knew that I would not stay that last name forever.

I'll change it this time because we will truly be one family & that's what I want. Plus, we will have kids and I want uniformity with our surname

[wherezdabearz 0]

I've added his name to mine so I now have two last names. Started off hyphenating until I got AOS NOAs with no hyphen , so decided USCIS could have their way and so I dropped the hyphen.

Unfortunately when I changed my name on my State ID card I was told that no spaces were allowed on their computer system so they had to add a hyphen, so when I fly domestically I book ticket using hyphenated name. Unfortunately, the Northwest check-in computer can't handle hyphens so it squishes the two names together as one.

And I've found out that to change my name on my UK passport, bank accounts etc I have to change my surna,e by deedpoll as in the UK you can either keep your maiden name or lose it and change to your husband's name.

I can see I'm going to have fun with this...

Edited August 12, 2006 by wherezdabearz

[babybunny 2]

I of course change my first and last name.

my moms husband took on her last name, this is because, my moms last name carries alot of status and respect in the community.

I took his name. I am planning on changing the kids names too.

I can understnad changing YOUR name but, not the kids names. that dont make since.

I am relating to this because, my parents tried that when I was little. as IF I would forget my real last name.

certainly I rember my real last name.

[rebeccajo 14]

Couldn't wait to change it. My former married name always sounded like somebody mumbling. My new name has style and class!

Plus he likes to call me 'missus'!

For those of you who are fond of your maiden name and kind of hate to 'see it go', there's an old southern custom that the genteel families practiced of giving the mother's maiden name as a child's middle name. Both for boys and for girls.

[Angelica 0]

I wanted to take his name ( I'm old fashioned I guess ) , but as I'm the last surviving member member of my family I didn't want to lose my name either. So going hyphenated was the perfect solution , our names fit together beautifully like we do

KIm

[Miranda&James 8]

I changed mine to his

[amarceau 0]

I changed mine to my husbands. I initially wanted to keep both, but my husband told me how much it would mean to him if I didn't and just took his name. It's a small compromise on my part to make and made my husband very happy. I'm also very proud to have his name. It really does feel like starting a whole new chapter in life.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I kept my maiden name. It didn't matter to my husband and he said he would support whatever choice I made. I like my maiden name - it is unique - and it had been mine for 49 years when I got married. All of my life's professional work - publications, documents, employment, credit, accomplishments and awards - everything was in that name. By getting married I changed my home, my country and everything else of my life - I didn't see the need to change 'me' as well. It felt too much like negating who I was and what I had accomplished with my life to date. The unexpected benefit has also been the ease of maintaining my identification without having to change my name everywhere. Much easier:-), I just have to explain to everyone all of the time why I ddin't take my husband's last name:-).

[MrMrsKnight 0]

I'd like to ADD his name if it's possible. I love my last name and it's a way of having my mom and dad with me forever. It's one of the things that connect me to my sister and the rest of the family too so it's important to me. But since I really do want to take Dave's last name, I want to add it if it's possible.

So it'd be like Marcela (mom's maiden name) (dad's last name) (Dave's last name)

It's normal to do that here in Brazil. That's what my mom (and every other woman in my family) has done.

Edited August 16, 2006 by MrMrsKnight

[mary&tom 0]

I will take his name. I certainly don't want to keep my ex husbands name! However, as I am moving to the UK, I have no idea what to do about changing my name on USA things like social security, passport etc. I might have to leave some of those as they are now.

mary

[Aymerlu 3]

I can't wait to change my last name