Who's taking their....

thecatsfancy

And, yes, it was a very easy process.  Just tell the person at Social Security that you want to keep both last names, but not hyphenated.

*Rebecca and Chris*

I took his.  I went from an awesome Italian last name that was fun to a boring common name.  It still makes me sad, but I figure once I get used to it in a few years, I will be happy.  I love the idea of our family having the same last name.  Even though there will be 535,825 other families with the same.  Plus, it was important to Chris for me to change, so I did.

LISA R

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_whos-taking-their?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:9a82357d-4dab-4b3c-8a7b-1ac091f57eaaPost:a5ceabc4-d06a-4e63-9c07-c01b40213b1b">Re: Who's taking their....</a>:
[QUOTE]hmmm now I'm starting to feel like I'm the weird one for wanting to take his name!  I definitely understand not wanting to, but I guess I just always thought I would take my husbands last name, so I never really thought of it the other way.  I kinda see it as starting our family together with our last name.  My last name is something that could be encorporated as a middle or even first name for a boy, so I am planning on using it that way to keep it in the family though
Posted by allikl62[/QUOTE]

Dont feel bad and by no means are you wierd  for wanting to take his name. Dont get me wrong I want to take his name. I'm just having a hard time doing it now. lol

becandjim10

Since my Dad passed in oct and was the last "my last name" male I feel bad getting rid of my name. I love my last name and it has meaning to me. Im trying to convince FI to take mine but he says no way. He has agree'd to "think" about hyphonating both our names together for the entire fam including himself

corinne2010

I will be taking FI's last name. I'm not sure if I will hyphenate or take my current last name and make it my middle name. It wasn't easy for me to decide because in a way I felt like I was losing my family. I'm proud of my last name and everyone knows who I am because of my dad and grandpa (they have a family business). So I feel like I'll be losing my identity. FI made it very clear that he would be hurt if I don't take his last name. It is ultimately up to me though. And I have decided to take his last name. And I'm excited about it!

catstoy73

I am an only child but I have 5 male cousins with the same last name. I always knew that I would take my husband name no matter what. I didn't feel like I was losing a part of me at all. I am who I am and a name change wasn't going to change me me bit. When we were introduced as Mr. & Mrs. B for the first time, it really hit me that I was his wife and I was Mrs. B. I was actually excited to change my name. Dave didn't want me to hyphenate and I didn't like the look of it when I wrote it down on paper.
I went from the back of the alphabet to the beginning. It took awhile for me to get used to it and when I hear Mrs. B, I still feel as though I should see my MIL behind me. It does get a little confusing when Dave's sister and SIL are around since the three of us are named Kathleen (mine is spelled with a C). Only 2 of us have the same last name and his sister took her DH's last name.

kristinandbill

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, FI would be very hurt if I didn't take his last name and I'm going to take it.  I've always thought that I would take my husbands last name and I want the same last name as my kids.  But it's hard.  And sentimental!

Melgor78

I’m actually excited about changing it.  I’ve never thought about not doing it.  I’ve never cared for last name anyway.  It won’t be any easier to spell or pronounce and I’m not overly fond of my new initials but oh well.

cmkuno

I'm not changing my name.  If we have kids, we'll hyphenate their last names. 

I have always had issues with the tradition of taking the man's last name (no offense to those who did, it's just not for me), so I told FI back when we first started dating I was never going to change my name.  He is still not really happy about it, but I told him if he wants the same last name, he can change his.  Or we can both hyphenate.  But he doesn't want to do either of those things, so my name is staying exactly the way it is. 

terbear_86

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_whos-taking-their?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:88Discussion:9a82357d-4dab-4b3c-8a7b-1ac091f57eaaPost:16256594-316c-41ad-a105-e54b698e95f4">Re: Who's taking their....</a>:
[QUOTE]Oh, and my new last name is a word used regularly in every day conversation and people still ask me to spell it.  What?  
Posted by HiggyFan42[/QUOTE]


My current last name is like this, common everyday word that for some reason people can't spell. I am sooooo excited to move to a new name. I can't wait. It is almost exotic. Besides, I always felt that my name was short and fat, like a heck of a lot squeezed into three syllables. I will have five syllables and it feels a little more , I don't want to say chic, but balanced, appropriate, proportionate, I guess. I have relationships with words lol. I am a dork.

aldarr

LIsa thank you so much for posting this!! I thought I was weird for being so attached to my name so nice to see others feel the same.  I am not changing my name and feel so relieved about my decision.  I talked about it with DH while we were engaged and I am very lucky that he doesn't care.  He thinks I will get tired of having a different name than our kids when we have them and thinks I will eventually change it...I doubt it but we will see.  I am just really attached to my last name, people have called me by my last name instead of my first name for the majority of my life and I like it better than his. 
Here is my question for you ladies that are now married and didn't change it...how do you let people know what to call you so they address you the right way? Everyone has just assumed I took his name and now every single thing that is mailed or everyone I talk to calls me Mrs. S rather than by my maiden name.

MrsAmann

I'm with you Hippy! I have two sisters and my dad has a sister - our name is totally dead. :-( I don't want to hyphenate but I thought about changing my middle name to my maiden name... that's a lot of work though! I'd actually have to go before a judge. :-P I think I'm going to end up caving and just losing my name all together. :-(

thecatsfancy

Keep both last name, unhyphenated, Ann Marie!  That way you can use either or and have multiple personalities like me...LOL!

emarston1

I will most likely be taking his name but not without some hesitation.  Logistically it just makes sense for kids, legal things, etc.

I had a convo with my mom about this recently and she had the exact opposite problem.  When she and my dad got married, he really wanted her to keep her name but she wanted to take his.  His view was that she should keep her last name because that's part of who she is and it would be disrespectful to her parents to drop the name.  Her take was that it would be more disrespectful to drop her middle name (the name they CHOSE for her) rather than the name that just happens to be the last name.

She "compromised" by doing Susan Maiden FI'sName.  But after about 15 years of marriage she decided she wanted her middle name back so now she's Susan Kae Maiden FI'sName.  But for all things except legal docs, she's Susan FIsName.

jujubee455

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_whos-taking-their?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:88Discussion:9a82357d-4dab-4b3c-8a7b-1ac091f57eaaPost:47a1dd25-e326-4d6f-b39a-bf8c219ca597">Re: Who's taking their....</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Who's taking their.... : If you want to use his last name only for personal stuff, I would suggest keeping both last names, but not hyphenating.  I looked into this and if you have both last names (not hyphenated), you can use either or.  If they are hyphenated, they are considered one name and it's generally not accepted to use either or.  Just something to think about... :) I definitely wasn't ready to give up my last name.  I would be going from the only Taryn K... to one of several hundred Taryn Joneses.  No thanks. I like being the only one. :)  When I brought it up to Brian, he was a bit hurt but said I could do whatever made me happy.  I tried to convince myself that I was ok giving up my maiden name, but when the Social Security guy said "Do you want to keep both last names?", I looked at Bri with puppy dog eyes.  LOL.  So I officially have both last names - not hyphenated though because I don't necessarily want to use both in every day life  - but I want to know it's there.  Like a security blanket I've had for 29 years.
Posted by thecatsfancy[/QUOTE]

Yep ditto... that is probably what I will be doing... just having two last names. But im still slightly undecided.

LISA R

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_whos-taking-their?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:9a82357d-4dab-4b3c-8a7b-1ac091f57eaaPost:4f6ff42c-25f1-4ebe-9dc2-5941b3deb859">Re: Who's taking their....</a>:
[QUOTE]Keep both last name, unhyphenated, Ann Marie!  That way you can use either or and have multiple personalities like me...LOL!
Posted by thecatsfancy[/QUOTE]

Sounds like a great idea. BTW Thanks for the info Taryn