Are you/FF planning on changing your name(s)?

[Ashley21]

I will take his last name

I like my last name but have no reason to keep it (I have a brother to carry it on)
And I like his last name just as much if not better than mine

This topic is reminding me of the Wedding Singer when Drew Berrymore is looking in the mirror at herself in her wedding dress, introducing her new name "Mrs. Julia Gulia" lol ... I don''t think I would be taking that name

 

[gwendolyn]

Other (didn''t vote in the poll). I''m going to be (Kristin) (My Grandma''s maiden name) (His Last Name) for sure. He may stay the same, or may be (James) (My Grandma''s maiden name) (His Last Name). He hasn''t decided yet, but I like the idea of him taking on a name and losing a name, even if it is just a middle name.

 

[Fleur_de_Lis]

I've thought about hyphenating my name but, when all is said and done, I will most likely take his. He said he wouldn't be upset if I didn't change my name but I know he really would be. Every time we talk about it he gets the sad puppy dog eyes and pouty lower lip and says "it's okay if you don't change it." Lol, it's quite cute.

 

[MrsHToBe]

I will be taking his name. Our daughter has his last name, and I''m so ready to share it as well.

 

[katamari]

I find it very interesting that so many posters identify their name with their families primarily and not with themselves. I guess this is more of a an observation than anything, but I find it fascinating.

 

[princessplease]

I''m taking his last name.
I have a brother, so my last name is saved. Plus, my last name is horrible.
He''s the only son, so it''s important to keep his name going with his wife and children.

 

[JSM]

I'm keeping my name for professional reasons, he's keeping his.

Our kids will have his name. I may hyphenate someday, but for now it's staying as is.

Even though we won't have the same name, I'm still very excited to be his wife!

 

[Octavia]

Date: 3/22/2009 9:16:24 PM
Author: katamari
I find it very interesting that so many posters identify their name with their families primarily and not with themselves. I guess this is more of a an observation than anything, but I find it fascinating.

Katamari, I agree and it kind of surprises me. I've always identified my last name primarily with my own identity, as though it's incidental that other members of my family have the same one. Of course, I know that's not the case, but I've definitely never viewed it as "my father's name." Hehe, maybe I'm selfish...it's mine, all mine!

 

[Smurfysmiles]

i''m taking his and i can''t wait! It sounds relatively the same since both of our last names start with R so that''s not a problem. I come from a family of 3 girls but my sister is getting divorced and going back to my original last name and I''m not sure if she''ll be changing it for a second marriage

anyways i can''t wait to be mrs. _______ the only hassle will be that im a graphic designer and my portfolio/web services address is my first name+lastname.com

 

[GoingCrazy29]

I will take his last name and keep my maiden name as a second middle. So I will be FirstName MiddleName MaidenNameasMiddle HisLastName. This is the same thing my mom and his mom did, they rarely use their original middle names- but they''re still legally there!

By the way B.H.S- is that your puppy in your avatar? ADORABLE!!!

 

[Deelight]

Other

I will be Mrs my first name, my last name-his last name

He will be Mr His first, middle, last name.

I have never had a middle name

 

[sba771]

I am excited to take his name, he actually asked me the other day if I was going to keep my maiden name and he was surprised when I said it was time to get rid of that name. I know it means a lot to him plus my father is no one I care to associate with so no love lost there. I was considering using my maiden as a middle name, but I actually love my middle name so it stays.

 

[jcarlylew]

Date: 3/22/2009 9:16:24 PM
Author: katamari
I find it very interesting that so many posters identify their name with their families primarily and not with themselves. I guess this is more of a an observation than anything, but I find it fascinating.

which is why i am never, ever, ever losing my middle name, though i am the last of my family''s surname. my middle name has been carried on by the men in my family (er...except when it comes to me!) so i identify as not only fmaily, but a part of what makes me, me.

 

[AllieGator]

I voted that neither of us will change our names, but that's not entirely true. I'm keeping my last name, but dropping my middle name and taking his last name as my middle name. So I'll always be Alliegator Lastname, but instead of Alliegator Middlename Lastname, I'll be Alliegator Hislastname Lastname.

I LOVE my last name. My last name is really rare, and I've always been called by it by my friends. Plus, it goes great with my first name. I'm the only Alliegator Lastname in the country, and most likely the world. I don't want to lose it, and he's fine with that. He really likes the idea of my middle name being his, though. I know he'd prefer it if I changed my name, but he respects my decision to keep my last name--it's who I am.

 

[NakedFinger]

I am taking his last name....I am very traditional.

I must say...I LOVE my last name, and really am going to miss it. But I think its disrespectful to him not to take it. Plus, I want to be a "family" and have the same last name, be Mrs. _____, and share the same name with my children.

The nice thing is, that I have a 10 letter, super italian last name, which often gets inquires on a connection to the italian mafia. So not getting asked that will be nice! haha My bf is italian and portugese, and his last name is from the portugese side. Its REALLY short, and has accent marks so it often gets mispronounced. But, it will take a lot less time to spell my name for someone! LOL

 

[Still_Waiting]

We''re a pretty traditional couple so I''ll take his name. There''s just something inherently romantic to me about taking his surname. Besides, his family name will die out if I didn''t (well, provided we also have children which doesn''t look promising at this point.)

Although, we''ve joked about combining our two names (making up a silly combo) because he uses my Club card at Safeway so they call him Mr. Still_Waiting. LOL! And we both have fairly unique surnames.

 

[adak]

Date: 3/23/2009 9:55:22 AM
Author: NakedFinger
I am taking his last name....I am very traditional.

I must say...I LOVE my last name, and really am going to miss it. But I think its disrespectful to him not to take it. Plus, I want to be a ''family'' and have the same last name, be Mrs. _____, and share the same name with my children.

The nice thing is, that I have a 10 letter, super italian last name, which often gets inquires on a connection to the italian mafia. So not getting asked that will be nice! haha My bf is italian and portugese, and his last name is from the portugese side. Its REALLY short, and has accent marks so it often gets mispronounced. But, it will take a lot less time to spell my name for someone! LOL

My daughter''s last name (her biological father''s) is very Italian! I have so many problems with people mis-pronouncing and spelling it wrong. I am hoping to get her last name, as well as mine, changed to my boyfriend''s last name once we are married. My new initials will be KLA (claw), which I am not too thrilled about (my initials right now are KLM and I''ve always loved the "alphabetical" order), but, oh, well.

 

[Bia]

I am still undecided. He really wants me to take his name because he loves my first name with his last name...and he loves his last name because of what it means. Yea, okay, it''s a nice-sounding name

I get it.

However, I love my last name, because it''s mine and it defines me. It is also very unique.

I think I will probably take his name because I do like it, and more importantly, I like the tradition of sharing a family name (his taking my name is completely out of the question...he even laughed that I said it

).

HOWEVER, because I wish our society would revise the tradition of automatically taking the husband''s name, I almost want to keep mine out of spite! BUT I won''t. I might use mine as a middle, but again, not sure (probably not).

 

[fieryred33143]

I love his last name. It''s only 5 letters. My last name is so long and ends in the very commom "ez" as most Hispanic names do. His is just different. I wouldn''t mind doing the hyphen thing because I think my last name and his flow well together but like I said, my last name is so long.

It''s really important to him that I take his last name. He doesn''t want very many things or complain about stuff so I know that if he even mentions it, it''s because it means a lot to him. So I''ll be taking his last name.

 

[BlueSki231]

I will not be altering my name in any way.
Why should my name change just because I get married?? It''s MY NAME!!

I may consider it if the day ever comes where it''s just as acceptable for a man to take his wife''s name as it is for a woman to take her husband''s.

Kinda funny story.. me and the BF were at the grocery store. When we were checking out, I pulled out the "preferred customer card" which had MY first and last name on it. When we were done checking out the cashier handed him back the card and said "Thank you Mr. NamastesLastName".
We walked away and I burst out laughing, joking with him, saying "I see you decided to take my last name huh" he just said "That''ll be the day.." and shook his head. I don''t think he found it as amusing as I did...

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 3/23/2009 2:51:00 PM
Author: Namaste
I will not be altering my name in any way.
Why should my name change just because I get married?? It's MY NAME!!

I may consider it if the day ever comes where it's just as acceptable for a man to take his wife's name as it is for a woman to take her husband's.

Kinda funny story.. me and the BF were at the grocery store. When we were checking out, I pulled out the 'preferred customer card' which had MY first and last name on it. When we were done checking out the cashier handed him back the card and said 'Thank you Mr. NamastesLastName'.
We walked away and I burst out laughing, joking with him, saying 'I see you decided to take my last name huh' he just said 'That'll be the day..' and shook his head. I don't think he found it as amusing as I did...

Namaste, I'm with you in a way--I think both should alter their name or neither, but it really doesn't seem right to me that only one changes their name (and in a way, their identity). Same reason I plan to be a Ms.

ETA: K actually said that he would consider taking my last name if it was less common--his name right now is very uncommon and he doesn't like the idea of having the same name as a lot of other people. Granted, he's taking it anyhow, but he probably won't use it day to day.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Date: 3/22/2009 10:42:21 PM
Author: GoingCrazy29
I will take his last name and keep my maiden name as a second middle. So I will be FirstName MiddleName MaidenNameasMiddle HisLastName. This is the same thing my mom and his mom did, they rarely use their original middle names- but they''re still legally there!


By the way B.H.S- is that your puppy in your avatar? ADORABLE!!!

I will probably do something like this and than use my last name for my professional life and his for everything else.

 

[gryffindor]

I will take his last name. Each of our last names are very representative of our common ethnicity and have exactly 3 letters in them. His last name is easier because his last name is a common American first name so it is familiar sounding in the US. My last name, even though it only has 3 letters is often mispronounced and misspelled because it is just unfamiliar.

I was worried because my professional degrees have all been awarded in my current name so it might be a little cumbersome to change my diplomas and licenses in addition to the usual documents. I want to start my practice before I will be married so I''m afraid that patients will get confused. However, other women have advised me that changing my name will actually be good publicity for the practice. They say patients love hearing good news about their doctor like weddings and births and kids growing up, etc. All the wedding announcements and name change announcements are opportunities to get the word out there for my practice.

 

[dec2410]

i will actually be changing my first and last name. everyone i know, know me as the name i plan on changing my first name to. my "legal" name is my korean name and is very difficult to pronounce. i will be taking my to-be husband''s last name.

 

[girlie-girl]

I took his last name but since I don''t have a middle name, I use my maiden name as a middle name. For day to day things I just write myfirstname hislastname, but all legal documents are done myfirstname mymaidenname hislastname. I''m not the hyphenating type and tend to be more traditional.

My cousin has a really long, unusual last name, he''s a dentist. When he and his wife got married he took her last name to make it easier on his patients. It''s a very common name (Davis). His brothers didn''t really like him giving up the family name, but it was his choice and he seems to be happy with it.

 

[swimmer]

LP,
DH changed his middle name to my maiden name and I changed my last to his, moving my maiden into middle spot. We both dropped our original middle names. If I had finished my doctoral program before the wedding, we would have done the opposite, so he would have taken my maiden name as his last name and his last name would have been his middle. Perhaps this is why he proposed so quickly after we decided to eventually get married?

 

[Pandora II]

I changed mine to DH''s.

My maiden name was a VERY unusual hyphenated surname that I had endless problems with. In the UK it''s not that usual to have a hyphenated name and so it was often assumed that I was either a snob, extremely wealthy or some kind of aristocrat before people ever even met me and I was endlessly teased about it at school. I used to hate hearing it called out in doctor''s waiting rooms etc

I now have a much more anonymous name that is easy to spell and fits on forms. I also like the fact that our children will have the same surname as us.

I have kept my maiden name for politics as it is a ''brand'', people remember it and the problems I had with it in the past are actually advantages politically in the UK. It''s also higher in the alphabet than DH''s which means my name is higher up a ballot paper (definite advantage believe it or not...)

 

[Bia]

Date: 3/26/2009 9:21:32 AM
Author: swimmer
LP,
DH changed his middle name to my maiden name and I changed my last to his, moving my maiden into middle spot. We both dropped our original middle names. If I had finished my doctoral program before the wedding, we would have done the opposite, so he would have taken my maiden name as his last name and his last name would have been his middle. Perhaps this is why he proposed so quickly after we decided to eventually get married?

Swimmer, I''m impressed that your husband would consider that....very cool.

You don''t see that as a given option much of the time.

 

[daydreamer]

Date: 3/23/2009 2:51:00 PM
Author: Namaste


Kinda funny story.. me and the BF were at the grocery store. When we were checking out, I pulled out the ''preferred customer card'' which had MY first and last name on it. When we were done checking out the cashier handed him back the card and said ''Thank you Mr. NamastesLastName''.

That''s happened to us too! I found it amusing but he didn''t notice. I''m probably more sensitive to it because I''ve been called "Mrs. my last name" by cashiers for ever.

 

[daydreamer]

I voted neither of will change our names. I have publications and my doctoral degree under my name and he has a small business under his name and so changing either name is impractical.

That said, the real reason I don''t want to change my name is because it is a symbol of my identity, my history, my ethnicity. I can''t imagine giving it up.