Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Last Names

   Last names. There's the generic ones, the hard to pronounce ones, and the highly unusual ones. No matter the kind everyone has one. Once you get married you may be contemplating your last name.
   The more traditional route is for women to take their husband's last name. In fact only about 8 percent of women will keep their last name, while in the 1990s it was closer to 23 percent. I'm honestly a little surprised by that statistic. I personally chose to take Dillon's last name. Even though I haven't legally changed it yet, don't judge.
    Some women choose to forgo their maiden name and keep their middle name. I made my maiden name my middle per say. So I went from going by Robyn Ivy Proctor, to Robyn Proctor Hinkle. I kinda wanted to use all 4 names but you can't really do that legally unless you hyphenate. I do use all 4 names on my Facebook though!
    Like I just mentioned above some women chose to hyphenate. I think it's a nice option for some, but I personally think it would sound too clunky with the 2 last names I would have.
    As afore stated 8 percent of women do keep their name as it was before the knot was tied. I contemplated this option myself. It's a good option for women that already have their name out there professionally, or just simply feel more themselves this way.
  What about men? We've been talking about women changing their name, but what about the guys? As of 2013 only 9 states treated a man's name change after marriage the same as a woman's. I was shocked, I had no idea. Other states require additional paperwork, months to process the request, and a huge filing fee. Could that be part of the reason most men don't change their last name? Or is it because of tradition? Fear of being seen as less manly? Who knows!
   There's also the very new option of couples making a hybrid of their names. So if your last name is Gold and his is Smith, y'all's new last name would be Goldsmith. I think it's a really sweet idea. It's like saying this is us, and this is our new family.
   Some of the reasons I chose to take Dillon's last name was because I saw it as a symbol of our bond. He's my family, and I'm his family. Plus my maiden itinals are unfortunate. I'll let y'all figure that out for yourself.
   What did you choose to do with your name? If you're not married what do you think you might do one day?

21 comments:

  1. Before marriage I was Tamara Ann Burton. I really like my last name, but I'm a traditional sort of person, so I did change my last name to my husband's. So now I'm Tamara Ann Narayan. That's a lot of As and whenever I have to spell it out, people laugh. Another reason I changed it was so that I would share a last name with my kids. I do miss Burton though and often think of using it as a pen name.

    I left a blog award for you at my site: http://www.tamaranarayan.com. Please stop by if you're interested.

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  2. Before marriage I was Tamara Ann Burton. I really like my last name, but I'm a traditional sort of person, so I did change my last name to my husband's. So now I'm Tamara Ann Narayan. That's a lot of As and whenever I have to spell it out, people laugh. Another reason I changed it was so that I would share a last name with my kids. I do miss Burton though and often think of using it as a pen name.

    I left a blog award for you at my site: http://www.tamaranarayan.com. Please stop by if you're interested.

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    1. I think that's a cute name combo! Oh thanks for the award! Thanks for reading Tamara!

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  3. I'm engaged so I've thought about this a lot, and I'm leaning more towards keeping my maiden name. Mostly because (although I don't have anything major published yet) I've already kind of got a writer presence going with that name. Also because my fiance has a sister named Sarah, and that's just a really complicated story in itself. If I do take his name I'll probably keep using my maiden name for my writing. I just don't like the idea of hyphenating the two for some reason.

    I love that hybrid idea! I feel like it would only work with certain names, though. Or you'd just have to get really creative!

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    1. Those are both good reasons to use your maiden. That's so funny that he has a sister named Sarah! Yeah I think that too, some names just wouldn't blend well. Thanks for reading Sarah!

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  4. As a person who does genealogy I very much dislike the idea of merging names, talk about fiasco trying to do your family tree in later years. I do like when women refer to their maiden name on facebook so you can find old classmates, but beyond that I like the tradition of getting married and being Mrs....x y z. Then again, I'm soon to be medicare age soooooo, that age factor probably plays into.

    Sandy at Bridge and Beyond

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    1. It is a lot easier to find people when they have their maiden names on there. Some even just have it as an alternative name. Thanks for reading Sandy!

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  5. I've never been married but I always thought that if I did wed I'd either use all three names (a la Helena Bonham Carter).

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  6. Your blog header makes me think of the old shows I'm watching right now: Hazel, Lucy and Father Knows Best. It makes me giggle when I see their single beds.

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    1. I know what you mean, funny how different things are in 2015! Thanks for reading T!

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  7. Kennedy family of dolls:Hina Dolls Return to Japan
    “U.S. Embassy – Tokyo, Japan “Got it.
    ryoma2sakamoto.wordpress.com
    https://youtu.be/wrUZ-TdvWpk

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  8. I took my hubby's last name - it's tradition, and I'm a traditional kinda gal :) :)

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    1. I like the tradition too, thanks for reading Lisa :)

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  9. I was glad to take hubby's name :) I had a Polish maiden name that was hard to pronounce and spell, liked it, but was ready for something simplier. Hubby's name could be spelled at the end "en" or "on"; his is "on" so we are always spelling it but at least it is easier to pronounce. My sister kept her maiden name, didn't hyphenate it with her husband's name. I would imagine it had to be interesting with the kids, who had the dad's name, with things like at school, doctors' appointments, etc., but she made it work :)

    betty

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    1. Me too, I hated my initials! Thanks for reading Betty :)

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  10. First marriage I hyphenated (lasted a year). Second marriage I took his name (lasted a couple years). Third marriage (finally one that doesn't cheat) I kept my name because I was done with the back and forth... 25 years later, I'm still saying, Yes we're married, I just kept my birth name.

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    1. You would think people would get that by now! Thanks for reading Kate!

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  11. My maiden name is LeGrand, so hyphenating that with Zecher would have been a nightmare. I never liked my middle name, so I was very happy to get rid of it and move LeGrand (which I've always liked) to its place. I didn't mind taking Nick's last name, but might have felt a little differently if his was boring. :-)

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    1. Those are both very cool names! Thanks for reading Danielle :)

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