Name change -- was it weird for you?

futuremrshp · February 2015

For you brides and newlyweds out there, for those of you who did change their last names to their FIs', was it kind of weird? I'm getting married in 2.5 months and I was just thinking about how I'd be introducing myself to newer folks in an organization that I've been with for years. I'm super excited but kind of interested to see what that'd feel like. I know me--- someone will be calling me Mrs. XYZ and I might not even respond b/c it'd be so new. LOL!

emmaaa · February 2015

I've known since H and I started dating that I was going to marry him and take his name. It was what I always wanted. The transition has been easy for me. What made it even easier is that my boss had my email and everything changed at work before I even got back from the honeymoon.

ETA: Someone called me Mrs. DH one day and my MIL responded too. Haha.

ShesSoCold · February 2015

It was weird for me. It still is. We got married in July and I just changed my name last month. It's weird to sign...I had to practice. I felt like I was in middle school signing my name with an NSYNC last name.

EDIT - it's also weird to see my credit cards and stuff in my new name. I used his name socially and at work before I changed it but actually seeing it - weird.

H and I knew each other for about five years before we started dating. In the beginning, we'd have moments where we'd be weirded out. Like, "woah, I'm making out with Dan....Joe's friend Dan...". I had a few of those weird moments with my new name.

theartistformerlyknownas · February 2015

It's still weird for me when people call me Lolo Newname. Or when the receptionist at the dentist asks for my name and I have to pause and think about which name they have me down as.

But I don't regret it.

climbingsingle · February 2015

It's definitely been interesting getting used to a new name. Start practicing your signature now. For a few weeks, I had to think about the name I was signing. And then a few weeks ago, I realized I was still using my old initials at work. I think it's pretty neat to have a new name. We received an invite address to Mr. & Mrs. and I totally geeked out over it.

futuremrshp · February 2015

@ShesSoCold LOLOL @ NYSYNC last name!!! LOL!

ShesSoCold · February 2015

futuremrshp said:

@ShesSoCold LOLOL @ NYSYNC last name!!! LOL!

I'm pretty sure I've submitted homework with "ShesSo Chasez".

LOL

lyndausvi · February 2015

I opted for 2 last names. I completely regret my choice, but I'm too lazy to change it back to one name.

It was a little strange hearing DH's name with mine, but mostly it was more of a PITA because of the 2 names. Some people/companies drop DH's last name, some drop my maiden name. Some smash the 2 together with no space (I'm looking at you airlines. Meaning I can't just swipe a card at the counter to pull up my reservations). Some put hyphens, others don't. I walk into places and give 3 options to see which one gets pulled up in their system.

DH fucking hates my last name. He wishes I picked one or the other. He didn't care, he just wishes I picked one.

After about a year I just dropped my maiden name socially and go by DH's name. It's easier. I'm use to it now.

Lowell14 · February 2015

Oddly, no one has had to call me by my new name often. It's not strange to hear BUT I stall when I have to sign my new last name. I have caught myself mid-sign of my maiden name and just had to go with it.

Seeing my new name in print doesn't phase me either for some reason, so that's good

beachyone15 · February 2015

I'm glad I did it. The process wasn't hard, but it sure did take forever to change it everywhere!

I jokingly told H that because it was such a pain in the butt to change, I'm only doing it once.

flyingfoxes · February 2015

I'm 1000% committed to taking FI's last name, but last month while donating blood, it hit me that it would be the last time using my maiden name and I realized I want to keep it, too. So I will have 4 names - not hypenated, I'll just add my maiden name as a second middle name. I'm just not 1000% prepared to give up the name I've had for 39 years.

dcbride86 · February 2015

mobride2015 said:

I'm 1000% committed to taking FI's last name, but last month while donating blood, it hit me that it would be the last time using my maiden name and I realized I want to keep it, too. So I will have 4 names - not hypenated, I'll just add my maiden name as a second middle name. I'm just not 1000% prepared to give up the name I've had for 39 years.

I grew up with 4 names (my mom kept her last name, and that was essentially my 2nd middle name). just so you know - it confuses the hell out of TSA sometimes. It's almost comical how some people can't seem to understand the concept.

JennyColada · February 2015

lolo883 said:
It's still weird for me when people call me Lolo Newname. Or when the receptionist at the dentist asks for my name and I have to pause and think about which name they have me down as.

But I don't regret it.

This has been the most annoying thing for me: I was applying to jobs and setting doctor appointments before and after we were married, so when people call me I'm like "I don't know who I am!"

theartistformerlyknownas · February 2015

mobride2015 said:

I'm 1000% committed to taking FI's last name, but last month while donating blood, it hit me that it would be the last time using my maiden name and I realized I want to keep it, too. So I will have 4 names - not hypenated, I'll just add my maiden name as a second middle name. I'm just not 1000% prepared to give up the name I've had for 39 years.

FYI, a friend of mine had two middle names at birth, and it constantly gave her issues. She even had a warrant out for her arrest over it - had gotten a ticket, went in to pay it, and the clerk couldn't find it so she told her it must have been dismissed. Really they had put it under her middle name instead of her last name (her name was so long it was on two lines on her license). They then mailed something to her, but even though she told the cop her new address was on the sticker on the back, he filed it under the address on the front, so she never got the warning. It was a nightmare to clean up.

She dropped her maiden name and the second middle name when she got married.

flyingfoxes · February 2015

lolo883 said:

mobride2015 said:

I'm 1000% committed to taking FI's last name, but last month while donating blood, it hit me that it would be the last time using my maiden name and I realized I want to keep it, too. So I will have 4 names - not hypenated, I'll just add my maiden name as a second middle name. I'm just not 1000% prepared to give up the name I've had for 39 years.

FYI, a friend of mine had two middle names at birth, and it constantly gave her issues. She even had a warrant out for her arrest over it - had gotten a ticket, went in to pay it, and the clerk couldn't find it so she told her it must have been dismissed. Really they had put it under her middle name instead of her last name (her name was so long it was on two lines on her license). They then mailed something to her, but even though she told the cop her new address was on the sticker on the back, he filed it under the address on the front, so she never got the warning. It was a nightmare to clean up.

She dropped her maiden name and the second middle name when she got married.

One of my high school classmates was mentioning that she always gets pulled aside by TSA because she's got all 4 names and all of hers are super-long so it never completely fits on an airline ticket! Luckily mine aren't nearly as long as hers, lol.

JennyColada · February 2015

When I changed my name, I dropped my middle name and moved my maiden name to my middle name. So my name went to Jenny Middle Last to Jenny Last DH. So many places (work, the bank) screwed it up to make it Jenny Middle DH.

It was annoying because I filled out my name properly on the forms, so just follow the freaking forms instead of ASSUMING what I wrote.

lyndausvi · February 2015

JennyColada said:

It's still weird for me when people call me Lolo Newname. Or when the receptionist at the dentist asks for my name and I have to pause and think about which name they have me down as.

But I don't regret it.
This has been the most annoying thing for me: I was applying to jobs and setting doctor appointments before and after we were married, so when people call me I'm like "I don't know who I am!"

Imagine what I go through:

Receptionist "may I have your name?"

Me - "Smith Jones. No hyphen"

Receptionist - "can't seem to find that name?"

Me - "try Jones"

Receptionist - "no, not that"

Me - "try Smith"

Reception - "oh, there you are"

More often then not people think my maiden name is a middle name. So normally they drop that one. But sometimes it's DH's last name is dropped. Or they added a hyphen and searching without a hyphen comes up with nothing.

It's so annoying sometimes. If I have to say my name with the airlines I have to just spell "smithjones". Although my maiden and his last together smashed together is even more confusing then that.

dcbride86 · February 2015

lolo883 said:

mobride2015 said:

I'm 1000% committed to taking FI's last name, but last month while donating blood, it hit me that it would be the last time using my maiden name and I realized I want to keep it, too. So I will have 4 names - not hypenated, I'll just add my maiden name as a second middle name. I'm just not 1000% prepared to give up the name I've had for 39 years.

FYI, a friend of mine had two middle names at birth, and it constantly gave her issues. She even had a warrant out for her arrest over it - had gotten a ticket, went in to pay it, and the clerk couldn't find it so she told her it must have been dismissed. Really they had put it under her middle name instead of her last name (her name was so long it was on two lines on her license). They then mailed something to her, but even though she told the cop her new address was on the sticker on the back, he filed it under the address on the front, so she never got the warning. It was a nightmare to clean up.

She dropped her maiden name and the second middle name when she got married.

This is why I CAN'T WAIT to take FI's name and drop my 2 middle ones!!! I'll finally have only 3 names and no more TSA issues for me! Happy dance!

hellosweetie1015 · February 2015

I am so so so excited. I made an email with FI's last name this week and I wanted so badly to just start using it. I've been practicing signing it every chance I get and I am completely, 100% ready to have things moved over. I don't get married for another 8 months and change, so it's definitely premature, but it's one of the only wedding-related things that I am very excited about.

holyguacamole79 · February 2015

It was definitely weird. I remember once I was at the doctor's office and H was with me. The nurse called me "Mrs (new last name)" and H had to nudge me and remind me that they were calling me.

ashley8918 · February 2015

Eh, not really. People have been calling me Mrs. HLastName for years, because they assumed we were married.

littlemushroom · February 2015

It has been an easy transition for me. I love my new last name, and still get a kick when I get mail addressed to me with my new last name.

sarahufl · February 2015

I changed my name legally. But I have a really unique maiden name, and it PAINED me to drop it.

I have a very visible job and I didn't want to just change my name and confuse everyone. So I still use my maiden name at work. I rarely use my last name socially because it just doesn't seem to come up and I kept my maiden name on my gym membership and stuff, so I use both names.

On our honeymoon I booked a hotel under my maiden name then proceeded to freak when they couldn't find the reservation under H's name. Oops....

Where it REALLY finally hit home for me was when we bought our house a few months after the wedding. I had to sign 1 million papers and initial all kinds of things. I was also called Mrs. Hs Last Name for the first time because it was a group of people who didn't know us before. It felt odd.

AprilH81 · February 2015

lolo883 said:

It's still weird for me when people call me Lolo Newname. Or when the receptionist at the dentist asks for my name and I have to pause and think about which name they have me down as.

But I don't regret it.

This is the biggest thing for me and it has been a year now. Most places have been changed but who knows what I missed.

Writing the new name was much harder for me that answering to it or seeing it in print. I had spent 32 years perfecting my signature and it changed. lol

thisismynickname2 · February 2015

I could not wait to get a new last name! My maiden name is very unique, and people always spell it or pronounce it wrong. ("No, there's no "s" in the middle...") My married name is still a bit funky to pronounce, but fewer letters for the win!

Once, before the wedding, we went on a vacation and had a welcome basket addressed to "Mr and Mrs. DHLastName" and I geeked out, even though it was too early.

The only thing I had to get used to was signing my new last name. I screwed up a few credit card receipts for a few weeks. There was a minor transition period at work, since we have multiple offices, of people at other offices saying, "Oh, I didn't realize that was you!" when they saw an e-mail pop in from a different address.

I keep forgetting to change my Open Table account and every time I go out to dinner, it's "Smith? Or Jones? Yeah, Jones! That's me."

jenna8984 · February 2015

I love it but it has also been weird and sad at the same time. I woman at work one day came up to me (before I was married) and said "Hey, are you related to <my dad's name>?" And I was like "yea, that's my dad!!" Turns out her husband works with my dad. It hit me right then and there that nobody would ever ask me that again after I changed my name. I would no longer be automatically associated with my dad, which is sad for me because I really love him. Same with my brother, I feel weird when I comment an inside joke on his FB because I'm like this is going to look weird to people who don't know I'm his sister! hahaha But besides that, I really like my new name.

FiancB · February 2015

I got used to it pretty fast because I have to sign my names about a million times each shift at work. My old name still pops up randomly but overall it was a pretty clean transition. I am in school and don't have an established career, so that helps.

Though I lament it a little bit when I have to spell it out for people. Total BS that I traded in my four letter last name for a four syllable one.

WinstonsGirl · February 2015

I didn't change my name, but it's appeared with DH's last name at some of his company events on name tags and such. I don't mind, cos it helps his co-workers identify who I am, but I do get a kick out of it.

Since I teach, I actually call DH Mr. WinstonsGirl when my students are around. It's just easier than explaining 2 different names. The kids kinda freak out over him when he comes to pick me up/video my teams competitions. They're all "OMG!! I saw Mr. WinstonsGirl!! He waved at me when I said hi!!!" It's kinda funny and DH just rolls his eyes. But he's known by my last name at my work.

DH actually has 2 words for a last name (spanish in origin). It's also brutal for airline tickets, etc. Sometimes there's a space, sometimes not, random capitalizations, etc. And since we have different last names, we're often split up on flights rather than seated together even when we book together. That really annoys me.

ChemFanatic25 · February 2015

dcbride86 said:

lolo883 said:

mobride2015 said:

I'm 1000% committed to taking FI's last name, but last month while donating blood, it hit me that it would be the last time using my maiden name and I realized I want to keep it, too. So I will have 4 names - not hypenated, I'll just add my maiden name as a second middle name. I'm just not 1000% prepared to give up the name I've had for 39 years.

FYI, a friend of mine had two middle names at birth, and it constantly gave her issues. She even had a warrant out for her arrest over it - had gotten a ticket, went in to pay it, and the clerk couldn't find it so she told her it must have been dismissed. Really they had put it under her middle name instead of her last name (her name was so long it was on two lines on her license). They then mailed something to her, but even though she told the cop her new address was on the sticker on the back, he filed it under the address on the front, so she never got the warning. It was a nightmare to clean up.

She dropped her maiden name and the second middle name when she got married.

This is why I CAN'T WAIT to take FI's name and drop my 2 middle ones!!! I'll finally have only 3 names and no more TSA issues for me! Happy dance!

Sorry to thread jack but is this something I should be concerned with? I'm traveling out of country in May and I have two middle names. When my SO bought the tickets he put both of my middle names on the ticket thing online when it asked for middle name. I"ve never traveled out of country so I've never had this issue.

theartistformerlyknownas · February 2015

ChemFanatic25 said:

dcbride86 said:

lolo883 said:

mobride2015 said:

I'm 1000% committed to taking FI's last name, but last month while donating blood, it hit me that it would be the last time using my maiden name and I realized I want to keep it, too. So I will have 4 names - not hypenated, I'll just add my maiden name as a second middle name. I'm just not 1000% prepared to give up the name I've had for 39 years.

FYI, a friend of mine had two middle names at birth, and it constantly gave her issues. She even had a warrant out for her arrest over it - had gotten a ticket, went in to pay it, and the clerk couldn't find it so she told her it must have been dismissed. Really they had put it under her middle name instead of her last name (her name was so long it was on two lines on her license). They then mailed something to her, but even though she told the cop her new address was on the sticker on the back, he filed it under the address on the front, so she never got the warning. It was a nightmare to clean up.

She dropped her maiden name and the second middle name when she got married.

This is why I CAN'T WAIT to take FI's name and drop my 2 middle ones!!! I'll finally have only 3 names and no more TSA issues for me! Happy dance!

Sorry to thread jack but is this something I should be concerned with? I'm traveling out of country in May and I have two middle names. When my SO bought the tickets he put both of my middle names on the ticket thing online when it asked for middle name. I"ve never traveled out of country so I've never had this issue.

The biggest thing is to make sure that your boarding pass and passport match exactly - make sure nothing gets omitted or cut off when they print it.

huskypuppy14 · February 2015

climbingwife said:

It's definitely been interesting getting used to a new name. Start practicing your signature now. For a few weeks, I had to think about the name I was signing. And then a few weeks ago, I realized I was still using my old initials at work. I think it's pretty neat to have a new name. We received an invite address to Mr. & Mrs. and I totally geeked out over it.

Well you don't have to change your name to get Mr. and Mrs. We got an invite like that too, and I kept my name. These people wouldn't know otherwise, so I don't blame them, but it's annoying.

I guess it's just something I'll have to let go, because people are set in their ways, and assume women change their names when married.

Name change -- was it weird for you?

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