-
I did. I never considered not changing it.
-
Nope nope nope. I had a career in my name prior to marrying him. I wanted to keep my identity.
-
Yup! We're both very traditional and it was important to me that our entire family had the same last name (as in the two of us and our future children). I tacked my maiden name onto the end of my middle name, which is my Korean name. And in Korean culture, women are often referred to by their maiden names anyway. I'm very attached to my maiden name but I took the opportunity to change my middle name since you can do that easily when you get your marriage certificate and change your name!
Professionally I go by both, treating my maiden name as my middle name. This is all very confusing, I know. Just call me Waggy.
-
@mrsjyw: I really like your very unique name
-
@mrs. bird: I am eye-rolling so hard right now.
I did change my last name. I had no attachment to my maiden name.
-
Yep, I did gladly. I wanted his name and I wanted to have the same name as any children we would have. I was glad to be rid of my SUPER common last name and have one that was more rare lol.
-
Nope, purely out of laziness. We've been married 3.5 years now, and I know DH's preference is that we have the same last name, but really, I just can't be bothered. I use his name socially but legally I am still, and probably always will be, my maiden name. Our kids have his last name and I'm fine with that.
-
Hyphenated. Part of me wishes that I had just kept my name the same for the same reasons as mentioned in the original post. My in-laws don't feel like family to me.
-
@simplyfelicity: @Ra: @MrsBrewer: my FIL is a delight. actually, i don't mind him that much, he's an idiot (i mean really, who would suggest i give up both of my names?? that's ludicrous!), but for the most part he leaves me alone, unlike his wife. i think i just confuse him, he's not used to women having opinions and voicing them.
-
I changed it despite licensing annoyances. I didn't really give it a second thought, and DH wouldn't have cared either way. (If he was the type to make a big stink about it, I probably wouldn't have married him in the first place!) I don't feel like I lose my identity by changing my name.
Oddly, I feel like it is a tribute to my FIL, who passed a couple months after we married. I really liked him and I think he would have loved coming to visit us and his grandkids. And DH is so much like his father...I feel like it is a way to keep his memory and a name that I am really proud of.
-
@Greentea: @rachiecakes: My husband took my last name also.
He liked the idea of us sharing a last name, but I wasn't sure I wanted to change mine. Plus he disliked how common his last name was.
I love that we did what made sense for us rather than insisting on tradition. He's a modern man.
-
I changed it. I always planned to since it just seems easier for our whole family to have the same name, so I knew I would unless my future husbands last name was awful. Plus I like being "the H-----s". I did make my maiden name my second middle name.
I don't really think of it as lumping me in with my inlaws, I just feel like it tags DH and me as one unit (not to say if you don't change your name you aren't a unit!).
-
Yes. My maiden was hyphenated and I hated it. But I didn't want to change it after I was professionally licensed. So I told my (then boyfriend) DH that I was changing my name before graduation either to his if we were getting married or to part of mine (dropping the hard to spell half and the punctuation). So we got married midway through med school. Presumably not because of the name thing but maybe it factored in, haha. I do really like his last name. I did try and convince him to combine our names to make a new one and both change. But he is really into the last names of his families so it was a no go. If my name had been better it probably would have been a whole different story!
-
Nope. I had no plans to change it, and my husband said he would have thought it was "weird" if I had just wanted to suddenly give up MY name. It's my name; we never really discussed it, we both assumed I would keep my own name. I've never been second guessed or questioned as LO's mother or as a married couple with different last names.
-
No, and I never will. I don't want anything to d with my inlaws.
-
@Espion: that's really nice regarding your FIL. I feel similarly for my dad who just passed. I am his youngest daughter and both my sisters changed their names, so it is nice to pass dad's name on for him.
@Iced Tea: awesome!
-
Yes
-
I didn't. My glib answer when anyone asks about it is, "changing it required a whole bunch of paperwork and NOT changing it required none - no brainer."
Honestly, though, my husband isn't really in touch with anyone in his family with his last name (the part we're close with have a different last name). Since I didn't feel like I was joining the HisLastName family, I didn't want to become Mrs. HisLastName.
And the "it's easier and I'm lazy" thing.
Now that we are TTC, the "what last name to use for offspring" discussion is on (and on, and on).
-
I did. I love having a "married name" and love having the same last name as my husband and kids. My mom has been married 3x and changed her name back and forth between various married names and her maiden, and I don't know, it was just important to me to have the same last name as my kids.
-
I did. I thought of it as a sweet gesture to show my willingness to be united with my husband and to mark the major life transition. I don't feel like my identity is wrapped up in my last name so it was pretty easy for me. DH was happy and tickled (though he tried to appear nonchalant), and that was enough for me.
-
Nope. We've talked about creating a whole new name for our family, but we haven't yet (too much paperwork). I really like the idea though.
-
@erinpye: You know, my mum was married 4 times and I think that may have influenced me. She has had 5 different last names!!!!!!!!
-
I changed mine as soon as we were back from our honeymoon. My maiden name is long and hard to pronounce. My married name is much shorter and easier to pronounce. My dad waited me to hyphenate my name but that wasn't happening.
-
Yes. I like being the lastname family with DH. I just wish D didn't have to be the odd one out with his own dad's last name. The rest of us are all the same. I don't feel like it connects me to DH's family, cause his mom has a different last name from re-marrying, and his dad passed away. I feel like it's just us.
-
@coopsmama:
I'm sorry!
-
Yep! It meant a lot to DH and I wanted to take his name. I love my new name (even though it's so not Korean!
) and love that we all have the same last name.
-
Yup!
-
I did change my name. He didn't ask me to, and I wasn't for or against it. I just did because I wanted to have the same last name as him (as well as our future family).
I do wish I would have legally changed my name so my maiden name was my middle name. I really want to do it now, but it's so expensive to change everything!
-
@Arden: I have a friend who did this. They changed their last name to "Bean". So cute!
-
@coopsmama: I haven't for one of the exact reasons you mentioned. "Mrs. H_____d" is my MIL, not me, and I just can't imagine being referred to by that name. Maybe it's weird, but, I just don't connect or identify with that name. DH did express that he'd like me to take his name, but it's been almost 1.5 years and he hasn't brought it up. Maybe I will once we have kids, but, I am not sure...
-
@IRunForFun: Interesting! I've never been referred to as "Mrs. Mylastname" in the 6 years we've been married, ha. But, my husband's mom doesn't have the same last name is him, so I couldn't even make the connection you mentioned.
I know someone who kept her maiden name, and when they had kids, they just hyphenated the last names of the kiddos. There's a blogger who gave her son her husband's last name, and her daughter her maiden name. There are so many options.
-
Nope. Kept mine and DD has my last name too.
@Arden: We have talked about doing this at some point too!
-
Disliked my maiden name a lot and it was my mother's maiden name too, so I changed it a few months after we got married.
-
Yes. Now we have been married 8 years and I was only 22 when we got married, so as an adult I identify more with my married name. My old last name is more unusual and the family line ended with my sister and I, my Dad was the only male and had two daughter, I wish I had used my maiden name as my middle.
-
Yes I did. It was important to my husband as he's quite traditional. I always planned to just drop my 10 letter, often mispronounced maiden name but when it came time to fill out the marriage license, I got nostalgic and made it a second middle name.
-
Yes. I grew up thinking I'd never change my name (due to the feminist in me). Then on our honeymoon I decided I wanted to change it. I didn't get around to it until i found out I was pregnant almost a year later and needed to get a health card in the province we were now living in. I keep my maiden name professionally in my career and I like the separation.
-
I hated my maiden name. Changed it the day we got back from our honeymoon! It still felt like not my name for the first year or so, but now I'm much more connected and attached to it than I ever was my maiden name. Especially after having our daughter- I like that we are a little unit =)
-
Nope, kept my name. I've never wanted to change my name, I love my name! I'm 26 weeks pregnant, and our son will have my last name as his middle name, and my husband's last name as his last name. So far I'm happy I didn't change my last name, except when I have to spell my name. My husband's last name is much shorter!
-
Yes, but I did it on my own terms and it was my own decision. I would not have allowed someone else to pressure me into it. I kind of liked reinventing myself with a new name.
-
Yes, I did when I got back from our honeymoon. I looked forward to having a "family name". I do prefer my unique maiden name to my super common married name, but that's OK... my DH was super touched that I wanted to change it and that I went to all the effort to do the paperwork.
I'm sorry!
) and love that we all have the same last name.
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
124 comments