Changing your last name

[Dwessie]

I know I answered forever ago that she would probably take mine because Canadians actually pronounce my French last name better than Americans do, but also it is an adopted last name given to us by the one man that actually stuck with my Grammy and her sons. It just means more than the other names do knowing dad had his legally changed to it.

Also her last name is Kaine and my legal name is Kayleigh.
You wanna be called Kayleigh Kaine? Ew, no, that's nasty.

[Honour]

We've often talked about marriage, and should things work out the way we both hope, then it will most likely happen. I think I asked him this question awhile ago, but I kinda forgot what he said, lol. However, due to several reasons, should I take his name it may differ from the name he currently has. Most likelihood is it WOULDN'T change, but yeah. I would like to take his last name, though any children that might pop up in future will probably have an influence of my surname/parents' names.

[CaliforniasBride]

I'll be taking his last name! I love it so much, honestly.

[sewbama]

I took my husband's last name. I just did a straight switch. I wasn't sure even the day I was going to do the official name change whether or not I was going to keep my last name as a second middle name or not. I decided to ditch it. It's REALLY difficult to spell/pronounce (My new name is a normal name - it's amazing to not have to spell it for people!). I don't have any solid connections work or otherwise to my last name. My sisters and mother all have different last names anyway. So, I'm not really losing much by just getting rid of it altogether. I really love my new name. It's been a couple months and it's still weird when someone says it.

[LivingInWonderland]

If my SO and I were ever to get married some day, I would take his last name. It has always been kind of a tradition in my family to do so, and I don't think I would feel right if I didn't lol. That and I really do like his last name.

[Redheart14]

I'll take his name. To honour my dad if I have a son, his first of Middle name will be my dads name.

[farandaway]

I want my SO's last name. We have not talked about marriage very much because we are not there yet and he is not divorced yet. But when we talk about our future he talks about himself as my husband and it sounds so nice. Right now I have ex's last name and I like to have same last name with my kids but I wouldn't want to keep it if I remarry. The only thing is I was stupid enough to make my last name part of my business name so I don't know what to do about it. We had not come to decision about a divorce at that point although it was obvious. I should have known better. But either way I will take SO's name and if I need to change my business name also, I will do it. My SO has a very nice last name and easy to spell and it's also known in my country. I will be so proud to carry his name!

[MyHindiHeart]

When I marry my Indian boyfriend, I will change my last name to his last name. I've never imagined it any other way. It's what I want. I just feel that taking on his last name makes us a family. Of course, that's how I feel about it. Many people have their own beliefs. ♥ And to each their own.

[Mims27]

My SO and I actually talked about that just a couple nights ago. I think we decided to wait until everything is settled before we change our names. But I think we decided that I will add her last name to mine and she will add mine to her's.

[snow]

I might be keeping mine for a while. I'd love to change it, but by the looks of it right now, I will probably keep it for a while.

[Miasmata]

I'm in a similiar boat as CanadianGirl. My last name is my father's last name, and I want to keep it as a reminder of who I am and who he was. My father's family is very small by this point, and with him passed away, there are few people to carry the name. I'll keep it as is. Hyphenating would be an option too, but I'd have to think about it. My last name stays, either way.

[R&R]

I will definitely be taking his last name. I don't think he'd appreciate me keeping my ex-husbands last name after we get married....

[CanadianGirl]

For me, my last name is my last name forever. By naming customs, I got my father's first name as my last name. We were very close before his passing, so it means far too much to me to change.

My SO and I talked about this a few times, but we don't know what we'd do about any possible future kids. My last name seriously outshines my SOs by sheer size (x3), so if we hyphenate it, they'll end up with huuuge names. His last name is short, but mine is way higher up alphabetically. I feel like I could be okay with letting them just have my SO's last name. There are plenty of other ways to let the world know those kids have me for a mom .

I know for definitely I am going to change my name and I am so happy to, before I met my SO I used to sometimes think about keeping my family name as I thought there isn't many people in my family left with the surname. But then I changed my mind back once I met my SO and I love the whole thing about changing to his surname when we get married, it feels like we become family and I love the fact of writing a new signature and saying to people etc the list goes on why it is so wonderful!

[crazycarrie06]

Ohy, this is a point of contention for me and my SO. I personally can not find any argument beyond "tradition" for changing my last name, and I don't feel that is a good enough reason. I've had my name for 27 years, it's who I am, my heritage and family history, it's something I'm quite proud of. He sees it as a rejection of his family - but I then say that he's then asking me to reject mine.

On the other hand, I also see it as a very romantic gesture - we're making a life and family together, so we should have a similar identity (this could be a good argument for just *inventing* a last name IMO).

At the end of the day, how I feel is - if he truly wants to marry me, then whatever decision I make really shouldn't matter to him. If the name thing is a deal breaker, that's a pretty weak deal breaker and speaks volumes of the strength of our relationship. So, if he asks me to take his name then he needs to be okay with a possible NO. But, on my side, if he is willing to do that for me then I would be willing to take his name because I know it means a lot to him.

Not entirely certain if that makes any sense.