Three Reasons to Pause Before Taking Your Husband's Name

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Thursday, June 26, 2003 | TERRI CULLEN

[Dead Dog]

He really worked overtime on being a SMF before that happend.

[tiamat]

I had a pretty nasty and abusive childhood.

I could not WAIT to get married and finally get RID of my maiden name.

Just wanted to be a "new" person.

Different for everyone I guess!

Tia

[Bacon Man]

Bacon can back me up on this; he's known Xena's Dad for almost as long as he's known me, and he can attest to his stand-up-guyness.

He's one of a kind alright.

[Kozak]

Or you hyphenate. I'm Janet Bosnia-Herzogovenia, this is my husband Jack Herzogovenia, and my children, Tommy and Susan Herzogovenia. People rarely think about how their names might later affect their kids.

Waiting for the tidal wave (only a few years off now ) When these hyphenated kids start to marry. Will it be:
Mrs Jack Bosnia-Herzogovena-Miller-Whitehead? Ah progress!

[technochick99]

So, they don't take his last name but they keep their maiden name which is their FATHER'S name, so it is still a MAN'S name

You don't think it makes sense because the way you are interpreting it makes no sense. It isn't a "man's name", it is that woman's name for her whole life.

FWIW, I never changed my name, although I had planned on it. I was going to use my maiden name for my activism "career". I had always said I would only go through the aggravation of changing my name if the new name was better than mine, given my age.

But I doubt it is because a woman is against a name because it is tagged to a man.

[KantianBurke]

funny how they want to dump the "taking of the man's last name" tradition but have no qualms about walking down the aisle in a white i.e. Virginal dress ;> hypocrites

[cajungirl]

Two reasons to keep your maiden name in addition to all the above. First, when you take their name, noone can find you,,high school friends just lose you if they try to find you ten years after graduation,,you just aren't listen by maiden name anymore. And if he has an atrocious name,,I loved my hubby's as mine was hard to spell and I was always spelling it for people. Besides his was closer to A in the alphabet and I figured that gave me a head start over the W's and all. I have three daughter, I wish one had kept her maiden name so we would have someone out there with husban'ds name, but I don't miss mine one bit. It was a pain in the neck.

[small_l_libertarian]

I know what you mean. I got married very young and took my husband's name. As part of the divorce, I took my own name back.

Now I'm in my thirties and am getting ready to get married again, and am unwilling to give up my name. It's mine and it's me and I'm keeping it. (So there.) I adore my sweetie, but he's not changing my name.

[small_l_libertarian]

I know what you mean. I got married very young and took my husband's name. As part of the divorce, I took my own name back.

Now I'm in my thirties and am getting ready to get married again, and am unwilling to give up my name. It's mine and it's me and I'm keeping it. (So there.) I adore my sweetie, but he's not changing my name. He can take my name, though, if he wants it.

[dandelion]

Back when I thought I might be the last in my family line, I wanted desperately to keep my family name in spite of my marriage. My father and my husband both felt it was a slight to my new family to do so, and I was persuaded to take my new name.

Happily, it turns out that I wasn't "the last of my kind", so it was just as well I took the new name; still, I think that the option in my case was a valid one. Women can be just as proud of their family history as their brothers and fathers are, and I am one of them. It had nothing to do with "liberation" or "independence" - it had everything to do with familial pride.

[Search4Truth]

A woman taking a man's last name in marriage was symbolic of the union that was once marriage. Hyphenated married names are symbolic of the partnership that marriage has become.

[ChemistCat]

A true political conservative would believe that a person can call him or herself whatever he or she desires.

[presidio9]

No, actually a true political Libertarian would say that. but I agree, nonetheless.

[ntnychik]

Hey, I'm a rock-ribbed conservative lady who upon marriage proudly took hubby's last name, also the name of the children we had. I kept my maiden name in the middle to get through those annoying identity glitches, and to be findable by people who knew me when. It also makes Dad happy. I'm about as far from a Rodham as Ann Coulter is.

[BSunday]

Yes, husbands sometimes take their wives' names

What kind of a wuss would do THAT ????

[frodolives]

What if they are both "Mr."?

[jwalburg]

Then, we'll move to acronyms: Mrs. Jack BHMW

[mewzilla]

In the words of the first Pres. Bush: Won't go there. Wouldn't be prudent :)

[BSunday]

One word: Demi Moore.

Isn't that two words?

All your names are belong to us! Seriesly!