Quote:
Originally posted by lauralaylin
What I want to know is, what are the reasons for not changing your name? Is everyone doing if for merely professional reasons? Or is it also a sort of independence thing?
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I can't quite put my finger on exactly why I won't change my name. To me, it's bigger than just professional, but I don't think that saying it's independence is really right either, because I'm independent no matter what my name is. I just don't agree with the custom of the woman changing her name and I don't see how it's relevant to my life (that's not to say that I have any opinion on whether or not anybody else should or shouldn't change her name -- I'm only talking about myself). I think it's just a tradition -- and I'm not one for traditions unless I agree with them. My name is rather ethnic and very difficult -- it's impossible to spell, pronounce, and very long. Yes, it came from a man, but as soon as I was born, it became mine. It's been my name for my entire life, and as cumbersome as it is, it's mine.
Since I don't want to have kids, what name they'd get isn't an issue to me. However, I would not give kids dad's last name without at least a discussion. Since my name is so difficult, giving them hyphenated names would be unpleasant, but I don't see a problem with making up a new name for them that incorporates both mother and father's names -- or, making up a whole new name for the family. I don't see the big deal, either, about having differnent names within a family, and could see giving a girl mom's last name or a boy dad's, or something along those lines.
Also, it would offend me if anyone ever called me Mrs., especially Mrs. Hisfirst Hislast. That's just not for me, ever.