Did you take your husband's name?

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Just curious what everyone who is married here did.

I decided to keep my maiden name- I like it, plus I didn't want to have to change all of my documents, etc. Eric didn't mind- the only potential problem is if we have children one day we will have to decide which name they will take, or if they will have a hyphenated name.

[catnapper]

I took my husband's name. I couldn't wait to get rid of my maiden name. I love his last name and glad I took it. :)

[borzoimom]

I took my husbands name so fast it made my daughters head spin!!! lol..

[Cookiebaker]

I took Mark's name. I dunno, I guess I wouldn't really feel like we were a FAMILY if we had different names. And its really important to me that we truly be a family.

[kittycats_delight]

I took my husbands name but here in Italy I use my maiden name as I did not change all my documents into my married name. And there is a bunch of paperwork to do here for me to use it.

[flowergirl]

I took my hubby's name. It is much shorter than my maiden name, and no one butchers it!! it's great ;)

[cyber-sibes]

I need an "Other" category!

First time around, I took his name. Twenty years later when we divorced, I asked my mom (who was terminally ill) if I could use her maiden name. I always felt closest to her family, plus she had a really nice maiden name. She was thrilled, she said she always wished she had kept it, but women didn't do that back when she got married. I still use it, and get compliments on it all the time. I did not change it when I remarried 10 years ago.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

I need an "Other" category!

First time around, I took his name. Twenty years later when we divorced, I asked my mom (who was terminally ill) if I could use her maiden name. I always felt closest to her family, plus she had a really nice maiden name. She was thrilled, she said she always wished she had kept it, but women didn't do that back when she got married. I still use it, and get compliments on it all the time. I did not change it when I remarried 10 years ago.
You're right- I thought about it as soon as I submitted the poll. I don't know how to change it though!

I think it's wonderful you took your mother's name. It's nice to have a name so meaningful to you.

[JenBKR]

I took Mark's name. I dunno, I guess I wouldn't really feel like we were a FAMILY if we had different names. And its really important to me that we truly be a family.

I agree...I took my husband's name also. As much as I love my maiden name, I wanted to feel like a family (and have the same last name as my future kids) :)

[kuhio98]

I kept my name. I am my husband's third wife. I figured there were enough Mrs. G's out there. ;) I didn't want to bother with changing all the paperwork. And after watching my sister-in-law change her name/paperwork through 3 marriages and 3 divorces, I thought it was crazy. (Not that I doubted our marriage would last). If we had children (we decided not to) our plan was for them to have their father's last name and my last name for their middle name.

Bobcat didn't care one way or the other. If he had, I would have taken his name. We really don't think about it much. But, sometimes it's a shock when we go to the vet and they call him Mr. T. See, all of the vet files are in my name. :)

[Felicia's Mom]

I took my ex husband's name.

[Lizzie]

I kept my own name and got a lot of criticism for it since it was the mid-1970's and not popular in England then. I didn't have a wedding ring either. I said I didn't want to be banded and branded like a piece of property. I was married in my heart and soul and that was enough for me. T. didn't mind at all.

[Sevaede]

I took my husbands name. I mused keeping my name as I am more fond of it now than I used to be. However, he was not super keen on the idea. ;)

[caseysmom]

I got married 25 years ago...I took his name, that was just what was done. I would probably do it that way again too.

[GreyhoundGirl]

I voted for my mom, :p . She took me dad's name. It just makes us feel... "as one" just because we're all the same. :)

[Suki Wingy]

I'm not married but I wanted to say my second cousin just got married and he and she both compined their names. My mom didn't change her name and my 1/2 sisters got my stepdad's name so in my house there are 3 different last names. :)

[catlover4ever]

I took my husbands name although I really wanted to keep my maiden name....I just thought that my maiden named sounded better with my first than his last name did.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

I need an "other" category too!!

Here in Belgium, a woman never loses her last name. In all mail and other things, we all use a combination of both names. At work, only the "original" name is used. Sounds confusing?
Well, I am Mrs.Gabriels, on our mail is always written "Mr. & Mrs. (or Lut & Bernard) Gabriels-Lobeau, on my pasport and drivers license there is Lut Lobeau. Easy, isn't it :p

btw: My "maiden" name is Lut Lobeau, and my hubbies is Bernard Gabriels :)

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

I took my husbands name. :)

[lizbud]

I need an "other" category too!!

Here in Belgium, a woman never loses her last name. In all mail and other things, we all use a combination of both names. At work, only the "original" name is used. Sounds confusing?
Well, I am Mrs.Gabriels, on our mail is always written "Mr. & Mrs. (or Lut & Bernard) Gabriels-Lobeau, on my pasport and drivers license there is Lut Lobeau. Easy, isn't it :p

btw: My "maiden" name is Lut Lobeau, and my hubbies is Bernard Gabriels :)


I liike that method. Seems very civilized to me. :)

I took my husbands last name, which was common back in the day.
Didn't mind at all because I always wanted children.

[neko1]

When I was married, I took my husband's last name. When I got divorced, I took my maiden name back. I did not want to be associated with my married name anymore!

Yeah the paperwork is a pain, but it's only a pain for a bit. Once everything is settled you're fine.

If I ever got married again, I would probably take my hubby's last name :) :p

[Karen]

I took Paul's last name. There were three girls in my own small hometown with the same first and last name as me, so I had no problem changing it. Besides, it made my initails easier to design with - all angles and straight lines now, instead of one curve thrown in. Though I will always be a Peterson in genetics and upbringing, and my old friend still calls me KP, I have been KAW (see how nice those letters work together) for 20 years now!

[M&M's Mommy]

I kept my last name. It's not in our culture for the wives to take their husbands' last names. The kids, of course, will have their father's last name.
I know I got married when we both lived in the U.S., where changing last name is common for most wives, but I wanted to keep with my culture by not changing :). My husband, of course, didn't mind a bit - for it's his culture, too. None of the wives in our extended families changed their names, so I'm not the only one..

[chocolatepuppy]

I took my husbands name. Back in those days most women did. I don't have a problem with it.
Lut, that's interesting how they do it where you live. :)

[popcornbird]

I kept my maiden name when we married. Having different names doesn't make us any less of a 'family'. In our faith, girls don't change their last name. All people, whether male or female, have the last name of their father for life. My husband didn't mind...in fact, he also prefers it this way. We do plan on having children, and when we do, God-willingly, they will have their daddy's last name, as the tradition goes.

[K9karen]

I took my husbands name so fast it made my daughters head spin!!! lol..


LOL! I'll bet!

I have no intention of ever marrying, but I'd keep my name at this point if I did. I like John's last name better but I'd keep mine to honor my beloved dad. He went through a lot of trash with our name, so it stays.

[Husky_mom]

I could be placed as other also cause we have a different system here....

for example my last name is Garcia, but i also have my mothers last name so im Isabel Garcia Valdes............but i refer to myself as only Isabel Garcia for shortness.......when you get married all your documents still have your name as its YOUR name, but you can add a like "de" which is like "of" (in english).........for example my mom is Isabel Valdes but she married to a Garcia and she changed it to Isabel Valdes DE Garcia, but still her things are in her own both maiden last names............so she can only call herself Garcia but still not be..........:P

so even if I could refer my self with a DE and then my husbands last name.......I just though it would not be me........i mean I am me and a last name won´t change me, but i´d feel awkward...........not that i don´t like his last name but still I want to still be me............LOL

Just another thing in the example of a person, let´s say kid, that takes his mother last name then it´s like if he has no father or is his mother brother........a bit different than most would think

hope i made sense

[CathyBogart]

I'm not married. I have no attachment to my father's name so I would probably take my husband's name if I married. If my name were my mother's maiden name, I would have a harder time giving it up.

Edit: thinking about it a bit...DBF's last name is Susoev (pronounced Soos-off) and people are ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS butchering that name. I would have to really consider taking his name if I married him.

[Twisterdog]

I took my husband's name, but only because it was important to him that I do so. I actually liked my maiden name better, but it wasn't as important to me that I keep it. I really didn't care one way or another. My son has his father's last name, so he and I never "matched" anyway.

[Cataholic]

I don't think I would ever marry, but, if I did, I wouldn't change my last name. I just don't see the point. Traditionally, or as custom goes, I don't care for the connotation- the wife becomes the man's property. I think we have moved past that. I also just like my name. I see women marry, change names, divorce, change names, and I think it looks silly- no disrespect to anyone meant.

As for Jonah, he has my last name. It is easier, makes sense, and we have the same initials! So, if I get a personalized item as a gift that I don't care for, I simply re-gift it to him. :D

As for feeling less or more like I family, I don't really see that. It is just a name. There are plenty of people I feel 'familyish' with that don't have my last name. :eek:

[dukedogsmom]

I even kept it after the divorce. My maiden name is often confused with another similar sounding name and I was so tired of being mistaken when making reservations, etc. Now, no one misunderstands me. I use my maiden name as my middle name.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

I took Justin's name when we got married, I could never imagine doing otherwise.

[Sophist]

I kept my own name and got a lot of criticism for it since it was the mid-1970's and not popular in England then. I didn't have a wedding ring either. I said I didn't want to be banded and branded like a piece of property. I was married in my heart and soul and that was enough for me. T. didn't mind at all.

I also rejected the whole ring/band idea.

I also need an "other". When we get married in February, for several reasons my new husband will be taking my last name.

[Vela]

You don't need an "other", she made "he took your last name" as a choice.

[Glacier]

I did, but only because I had a very difficult, strange maiden name. He has a nice, normal, easy to pronounce last name! I was tired of having to spell and explain my name all the time! Stuart didn't care one way or the other what I did.

[Sophist]

You don't need an "other", she made "he took your last name" as a choice.

Missed it somehow. Oh, well.

[fionapap]

At the time we married, back in 84, the law in Greece said that women were obligated to keep their maiden names. I was disappointed but could not do otherwise.

However I do not use my maiden name at all unless it has something to do with legal matters.

Greeks do not have middle names. Very confusing if you consider that half the population is called Maria or George.

Therefore, my 2 middle names cause a lot of commotion and complaints especially from civil workers who are too lazy to write all my names down and have even tried to dismiss them. Imagine have 2 hyphenated last names!! :p

Now there's thought. Most civil workers are so rude and insolent here that it just might be fun to make their lives a little more difficult as they do ours. ;)

My appologies to any civil workers who might be reading this, but if you have ever lived in Greece, you will understand my comments on this issue.

[mina'smomma]

Considering my maiden name is Smith. I'll let you guess which I did. ;)

[Logan]

I never had a middle name and my initials, prior to my first marriage were so boring! LOL!!! Just "LH". I took my first husband's last name and used my maiden name for my middle initial. I could finally have a monogram, LHG! After our divorce, I kept his name for my daughter's sake. I would have gone back to the "LH" in a heartbeat, otherwise.

When I remarried in 2002, I took my husband's name and dropped my first "married" name. Now I am "LHB", keeping my maiden name for my middle name. I never considered doing anything but that and my daughter was old enough to understand why I did it. Her friends still call me "Mrs. G" and I'm fine with that!

Logan

[Prairie Purrs]

Officially I changed to my ex-husband's name while I was married, but I continued to use my maiden name at work (I was a radio newscaster).

When we got divorced, I gave back his name (and took the savings account). ;)

[carole]

Yes i did take my husbands name, because its traditional i suppose, it is the same name as a girls first name, so i often get called my last name instead of my first, which kinda annoys me,but that is how it is lol. :)

[Edwina's Secretary]

Kept the name I was given at birth. Didn't see any reason the person I had been for over 40 years should stop existing....

It can be a hassle but it was important to me....(always fun when my husband is called Mr. Sara!)

[crow_noir]

I always figured i'd keep mine. No man is worth changing your idientity for. (I could only ever understand hyphinating last names, but not one person entirely throwing theirs away. I see it as coming from a time when women were nothing more than property.)

As much as my last name can be a drag sometimes, it has its benefits.

Both of our last names aren't our real last names. Our heritages had their difficut times and the names were forced upon our ancestors. I told him that if he ever chose to take his real grandfather's last name i'd chage to it too. It's a proud and noble name that I'd be proud to carry. It would be nice to have a "Real" last name for once.

[crow_noir]

Thanks for explaining that. I always asked the kids at my school about that, but they had no idea. They just went with it.

Now i know!


I could be placed as other also cause we have a different system here....

for example my last name is Garcia, but i also have my mothers last name so im Isabel Garcia Valdes............but i refer to myself as only Isabel Garcia for shortness.......when you get married all your documents still have your name as its YOUR name, but you can add a like "de" which is like "of" (in english).........for example my mom is Isabel Valdes but she married to a Garcia and she changed it to Isabel Valdes DE Garcia, but still her things are in her own both maiden last names............so she can only call herself Garcia but still not be..........:P

so even if I could refer my self with a DE and then my husbands last name.......I just though it would not be me........i mean I am me and a last name won´t change me, but i´d feel awkward...........not that i don´t like his last name but still I want to still be me............LOL

Just another thing in the example of a person, let´s say kid, that takes his mother last name then it´s like if he has no father or is his mother brother........a bit different than most would think

hope i made sense

[jackmilliesmom]

I took my husbands name and was so keen to do so when I signed the register I signed it as Josephine S instead of Josephine L as was required that really sent the registrar into a tissy altogether.... lol... what a joke that has become in my year and half marriage but his sister-in-law who got married this year did the same thing its kind of funny.


We are both kind of traditional in that way. I am proud to be married and even in taking his name I have still retained my independence and personality that does not change just because you get married and change your name

[ramanth]

I took my husband's name. Went from Smith to Miller. I think if I had a more unique maiden name, I'd of kept it or hyphanated. :)