Keeping maiden name when marrying

disney11fan, you quoted me, but several of the capital letters were changed to lowercase, on at least two separate occasions. I realize this is not on topic at all, but did you change them or is the DIS having issues with quoting? It doesn't seem to be happening to other quotes...
 
I'm struck by the fact that a number of women in this thread have stated that they would not have married their husband if he had a problem with their keeping their maiden names. These women have not been attacked. However, men who feel that it is important for their wife to take their last names are being attacked.

Are men not allowed to have opinions on this issue?


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I know only one GUY that took his WIFE'S last name along with his own. I think it is really strange to see that hypenated name all the time in e-mails and such at work. Maybe it is just because it is something new to me. I am pretty traditional when it comes to marriage. I took my husband's last name. I didn't even think twice.
 

Please....when I got married my initials became PMS.

I ordered a backpack from LLBean and the lady offered me monogramming. I said no and she told me it was free because I had an LLBean Visa. I said no because my initials weren't so good. She said "Oh come on...how bad could they be?". I said "My monogram would be PMS. There was a pregnant pause and she finally said "Oh my, how unfortunate".:rotfl:

Needless to say, I got no monogram.;)
:lmao: That's hilarious! But I probably would have gotten the monogram...I love it! :laughing:

Regarding my prior post about being addressed as "Mrs John Smith" in writing...
FWIW it's still the most formal form. Even I get that I could be get mail addressed to Mrs Robert blahblah, and I'd respond to an invitation addressed like that. Might not be my legal name, but it's a very formal way of doing things in this western society.
"Even I get" that it's probably still on "the books" as the most formal form of address, but it is, in this day and age, archaic. And I was referring to my MIL addressing birthday cards and a magazine subscription to me, not Charles inviting me to William's wedding. Any formal invitation that I might receive most likely would include my DH, and as I DID make a less than enthusiastic decision, of my own choosing for my own reasons, to take his last name, they WOULD be addressed to Mr and Mrs John Smith. However, to address me ALONE as Mrs John Smith in every day life (cards, magazine subscriptions) is rarely used these days, is certainly NOT acceptable to me, and even etiquette experts, last I looked, "get it" about having entered the 21 century and therefore, the practice IS archaic, and Mrs Mary Smith is perfectly acceptable and as formally acceptable as the archaic "Mrs John Smith". If you choose to respond to an invitation addressed to "Mrs John Smith", go for it. I can't even begin to imagine receiving one addressed as such, but I'd have to judge the invitation in its entirety (from whom, to what, my desire to attend) before deciding how to respond, if at all.

that's the way it is. Marriage is between a man and a woman (no matter what other people might think) and it has always been the woman takes the mans name....period. If you don't like it don't get married. I would call this a marriage buster in my view. I would be afraid of this. I hve been married by the way for 26 years and counting. And yes my wife took my last name.
Too funny! (Well, too "something".) What other people do with their relationships is that fearful to you and your marriage? Wow. With all the gay marriages that have taken place, and with all the people choosing different approaches to their names after marriage, not once did I ever feel afraid of any of it. :confused3
 
that's the way it is. Marriage is between a man and a woman (no matter what other people might think) and it has always been the woman takes the mans name....period. If you don't like it don't get married. I would call this a marriage buster in my view. I would be afraid of this. I hve been married by the way for 26 years and counting. And yes my wife took my last name.

You are lucky you found her and that she is obviously a saint. It"s not easy to stay married to someone as opinionated and judging as you. I watched my mother do it. When my dad died, she felt real relief. She honored her promise to her God though. My mom was a saint too. She took my Dad's name. It did her no earthly good.
 
...

I will say, though, that our different names led to some annoyance with Disney. After booking our last vacation online and getting something in the mail addressed to "The MyLastName Family," I called to make a change and also asked them to please note that we'd prefer to be "The HisLastName Family." I was told they'd add a note about it. We continued to get "MyLastName" things in the mail, though, even though each time I had to call for something (it was a complicated multi-family trip, and I wound up spending a LOT of time listening to Disney hold music ;)), I'd ask again that they change it. I was especially sad about the custom maps I requested from the website that came with the wrong name on them. Next time, I'll book under my husband's name -- even though, since I always handle all vacation planning for our family, it's much more convenient to use my own!

Yeah, I've had that happen too, but DH has a sense of humor about it as long as his KTTW is in the correct name -- matching his ID. I can't make the reservation in DH's name, though, because for the 21 years we've been married we have also had separate bank and CC accounts. [Quelle horreur!]

Which brings me to the one time that I really do have issues with answering to "Mrs. Hislastname." Most of the time it isn't a problem and it doesn't bother to me to answer to that socially, but I need for family members to know my legal name and to take that seriously, because in situations involving legal documents I need for them to use my real name. It drives me batty when the old folks expect me to go to a bank or an attorney with a document naming a person who does not exist.
 
I agree completely. But this is just one of those "hidden" forms of sexism, based on a tradition of the transfer of ownership.

As I've said before, there are MANY of those traditions associated with marriage. The giving away of the bride, the hand in marriage, popping the question, etc. Like you, I objected to some traditions and didn't do them. However, many people value them. Different strokes.

For me, taking my dh's name was not an issue at all. It didn't change my identity one bit. I am still who I am. I chose which traditions to embrace, just as others choose. It was perfectly "sensible" to me, and again, didn't change who I was.
 
We have clients who use their maiden name but, it creates problems with the company computers. The computers keep deleting discounts as it can not match up the names. The clients call, we force the discount back on and the next year it happens all over again.

You might want to try keying the account on the address. That will take care of the problem.
 
I took my husbands name without a second thought. I legally use my maiden name as my second middle name, but I use them both as initials, not written out. Our children will also have my maiden name as their second middle name on their birth certificates.

It's important for me that we all have the same last name. And I like the tradition of taking the husband's last name. I don't feel it has diminished my sense of self as becoming his property. I'm proud to be his wife and take his name. I'm still me, so no harm done.
 
I agree completely. But this is just one of those "hidden" forms of sexism, based on a tradition of the transfer of ownership.

Oh trust me, my husband is VERY well aware of the fact that he doesn't own me.... :rotfl2:
 
I agree completely. But this is just one of those "hidden" forms of sexism, based on a tradition of the transfer of ownership.

So, to be sure I understand this, it is sexist tradition to take your husband's name on marriage but not sexist if you keep another man's name, your father's, instead?

ford family
 
that's the way it is. Marriage is between a man and a woman (no matter what other people might think) and it has always been the woman takes the mans name....period. If you don't like it don't get married. I would call this a marriage buster in my view. I would be afraid of this. I hve been married by the way for 26 years and counting. And yes my wife took my last name.

Just got to point out that when I was a kid, in Quebec a woman's maiden name remained her legal name. She did not take her husband's name. That was based on French law.

Other places where a woman's birth name remains her legal name for her whole life, or where women don't typically take their husband's names...

France
Belgium
Cambodia
China and Taiwan
Italy
Iran
Korea
the Netherlands

Islamic law actually requires that a woman keep her own name and identity. She can't take her husband's, even if she wants to.

Then there's piles of countries like Spain and Portugal, where the two surnames are joined, sometimes with an article between them.

Really, it's just in the West that women regularly drop their last names and take their husband's name. And even that varies depending on the country (in Germany the "family name" is decided when a couple gets married and can be either the husband or the wife's name).
 
As I've said before, there are MANY of those traditions associated with marriage. The giving away of the bride, the hand in marriage, popping the question, etc. Like you, I objected to some traditions and didn't do them. However, many people value them. Different strokes.

For me, taking my dh's name was not an issue at all. It didn't change my identity one bit. I am still who I am. I chose which traditions to embrace, just as others choose. It was perfectly "sensible" to me, and again, didn't change who I was.

So, to be sure I understand this, it is sexist tradition to take your husband's name on marriage but not sexist if you keep another man's name, your father's, instead?

ford family

Yes, I understand that many people value the traditions, but that doesn't mean I have to embrace or support them. I have already stated very plainly that I support the right for women to choose, even when I disagree with their choice. I find the tradition abhorrent, but I would not force anyone to not take their husbands name as that would be just as bad as forcing someone to do so. So long as the choice is there, I will support a woman's right to choose every time.

However, even this thread is an example of how in some (I feel many) cases it isn't really a choice. It's a foregone conclusion followed either blindly or because the man in question feels it will diminish him in someone to have a wife with a separate surname, and I've tried to explain why that bothers me.

Ford Family, I currently carry my mother's maiden name (which technically changed upon my grandparents arrival here, so is really no man's name but an invented one). There is a level of practicality here, where eventually you stop going backwards and instead say it stops here. I see no hypocrisy changing that which I don't agree with even if I can't change what was done in the past.

*Edited to Add* I have two best friends who are Muslim. They both wear head scarves. I also find this to be an outdated, sexist tradition in the extreme, for a great many reasons, both cultural and religious. However, they both chose to wear the scarves and would have been freely allowed to choose not to do so by their families. So who am I tell them they have to take them off? My beliefs demand the right of choice, not the right to choose for someone else. But I can still disagree with the tradition in general, and strive to make a reasoned argument that may at least cause someone to think about their choice and why they might have made it.
 
I married at 23 and took my then DH's name. My maiden name - first and last together - was 6 syllables and much easier to say using a nickname. My married name flowed easier. Since then, I've gotten a professional degree and name means a lot. There is only one other person in my field in the entire city with the same last name - and we practice in very different areas. I consider it my adult identity that is now separate from my ex.

If I were to ever marry my current SO, I would not legally change my name. Not only would it affect my professional reputation/recogniztion, but I would then have the same name as his sister. That's a little too strange for me. At least we go by different nicknames.

I don't want to feed a troll, but want to comment. Marriage is not all or nothing based on some christian-based ancient standard. It's up to the couple what to make of their relationship. While POA is an option, I would not want to lose legal rights/visitation/etc for a SO just because of the name issue. More than a touch short sighted, IMO.
 
My reason for changing my name was my children.

My DH would be fine with any decision I made, but I wanted us to have the same last name as my children and I didn't care for my maiden name.

I have absolutely no issue with married people having different last names (most of my friends do), but I find it strange that their children almost always have the husband's last name. Whatever the wife's reasoning for keeping her maiden name, it's as if it's automatically assumed that the kids will have the father's name. (I know one family where the children have the mother's name and people act as though it's some atrocious act that indicates what a horrible/crazy/selfish person she is. :confused3 ) I guess I don't understand where if you're keeping your name for feminist reasons, why you would find it acceptable for the children to be given the male parent's name by default.


ETA: Our oldest DD was born before DH & I were married and she shared my maiden name. If I kept my maiden name and we followed the "traditional" route of giving our kids DH's name than DD would have a different name than her siblings. We discussed this with her before we married (even though she was fairly young) and we decided that it would be best for us to all share one "family" name. We chose DH's and DD and I both changed our names.
 
I have absolutely no issue with married people having different last names (most of my friends do), but I find it strange that their children almost always have the husband's last name. Whatever the wife's reasoning for keeping her maiden name, it's as if it's automatically assumed that the kids will have the father's name. (I know one family where the children have the mother's name and people act as though it's some atrocious act that indicates what a horrible/crazy/selfish person she is. :confused3 ) I guess I don't understand where if you're keeping your name for feminist reasons, why you would find it acceptable for the children to be given the male parent's name by default.

I can't speak for other people about this, but I didn't really care about the fact that my surname came down in the male line. I didn't want to change my name, pure and simple. After I'd worn it for so many years, it was mine, not my dad's. It was the issue about changing my name, and feeling that I would be losing something important to me with the change.

My DH had no big issue about me keeping my name, but he really wanted to give his surname to our DD. So that was our bow to tradition. I do know a fair number of families where the children have the mother's surname, but here's the funny thing... I have no idea whether the parents are actually married, and it would be kind of intrusive to ask!
 
So then if a man wants to make a statement that he is entering into a relationship that takes precedence over his childhood relationship with his parents, he should give up his own name to take his wife's name, right?
He is fine to do so if he so desires. Heck, I could care less if they both take a brand new name. The norm is for the woman to take the man's name. One benefit of doing it this way instead of your proposed way is that it eliminates future confusion.
 


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