Monday, March 22, 2010

The Name Game

**I'm getting married in exactly two months! Holy Crap!

Okay now that that's out of the way I wanted to talk about something that I'm really excited about in regards to getting married...changing my name! I know that whether or not to change your last name is often a touchy, highly debated topic. Several of my friends seriously debated whether or not to change their last names after getting married and it was a pretty tough decision for them to make though ultimately they did.

For me I've never questioned what I wanted to do or even considered keeping my last name and there are several reasons for this:

1. I'm pretty traditional about this kind of thing
2. I want to have the same last name as my future children
3. I've never been particularly fond of my last name which is often mis-pronounced
4. I'm not close to my dad or his side of the family so I don't feel a strong tie to keeping that association.
5. I love Kristian's last name

Now the question for me was whether or not to keep my middle name which is Elizabeth or drop my middle name and use my maiden name in it's place. Again this wasn't really a tough decision for me. Like I said I'm not particularly attached to my last name however I love my middle name and the fact that I share it with both my grandmother and niece. I'm also pretty excited about my new initials which will be going from SEG to SEP...it's too bad Kristian's last name doesn't start with an X because that would make for a really fun monogram!

The only thing that I'm NOT looking forward to is the name changing process which I hear can be a real time consuming bitch. My goal is to start working on the paper work prior to the wedding so that I can get this done soon after the honeymoon...but I don't know how motivated I'll really be when factored in with everything else I have on my to-do list.

So tell me...did you/will you all change your last name after getting married? Why or Why not?

16 comments:

princessapr said...

Frankly, I was too lazy for the paperwork. So, I kept my maiden name though a lot of people think it's because I don't like Sawicki which I think is as good a name as any other. My maiden name doesn't lend itself well to a middle name though. I'm perfectly find with having the offspring having the husband's name. That wasn't ever a question.

People call me Mrs. Sawicki and I use the married name socially for dinner reservations and Christmas cards, but it's not actually legal. I think, after some initial grumblings, Rob was ok with it. He's learned to deal with it. I knew he was ok with it when he engraved my first iPod with my maiden name.

Now, I did once promise to change my name when my license expired or when our first kid was born, but dumbass lost our wedding certificate thingy so now it's his fault.

Muito Igual a VocĂȘ said...

I'll sure will! Because just like you I am not close to my dad and I love Alex's last name. I see myself as Mrs. husband's name. That's all =)

Dani said...

I will change my last name. I HATE my current last name and I want my husband and future children to have the same last name as me. :)

bananas. said...

I'm sure you know my answer. I'll keep mine. Not because i love my last name or because i'm close to my father because neither are true...i'm just not traditional.

I think you need to keep your middle name for sure. Last names as middle names don't flow. Also, we have the same middle name :)

bananas. said...

I'm sure you know my answer. I'll keep mine. Not because i love my last name or because i'm close to my father because neither are true...i'm just not traditional.

I think you need to keep your middle name for sure. Last names as middle names don't flow. Also, we have the same middle name :)

Jen said...

I've become really attached to my last name; it has such history, and it's royal! But, I think, ultimately, I will change my name. I might pass my maiden name on to my future son if I have one, as a middle name, and my future daughter may or may not get my mother's maiden name as her middle name. I think that's a great way to hang onto that history.

Good luck with the paperwork! It seems very overwhelming to me! Kinda makes me glad I'm planning on Hawaii for my honeymoon; I won't need my passport to leave the country! One less thing to worry about.

Meagan said...

I changed my last name and it just feels right. I loved my last name and my dad's side of the family. Might use the name for a baby. But there are a lot of them and Hubby still calls me by my maiden name. Honestly the changing your name process was not that bad. I took a few hours away from work to "stand in line", you just sit there, at the social security office and dmv. After that you have to call credit card companies and take your id into the bank. I was super stressed about it and wanted to plan ahead and it was no big deal!

Melissa said...

It was never a question for me either. I will be changing my name as well. But, I haven't put much thought into whether I will drop my middle name or not. I like both my middle name and my last name now. That will be hard!

Heather said...

I’ll be changing my last name and also keeping my current middle name for many of the same reasons as you. As for the paperwork, I definitely recommend going with an online name change service like Name Change Express. I won a free package from them, and the service looks great. I’ll find out for sure in just three months!

Mrs T said...

I changed my name - although I am still wading through paper work nearly three months after the wedding. Half my id says one name, half the other. What a pain!!!!!

SEX would be a hilarious monogram! Ha

qunjuliete said...

I guess these are the types of things I have to start thinking about now! I really like my last name - it's unique which makes it fun. Although, it is annoying that no one can pronounce or spell it. I could hyphenate my name and make it really long - not sure how practical that would be. I guess I've got some time to think about it.

Two months to go - you must be so excited!

Krysten @ Why Girls Are Weird said...

I changed my last name.

I, like you, have always been fairly traditional. Has I married someone with a shorter last name I might have hyphenated, however my maiden name is 9 letters and my married name is 11. So I ditched my maiden name altogether.

And honestly, the name change process isn't THAT hard. Social security just takes a few minutes, as does your drivers license. If you have a passport it's just a waiting game. And everything else I just did as I thought of it.

Unknown said...

Oh the paperwork involved! But its so worth it. I LOVE being a Lawlor. :)

Lacey Bean said...

I'm changing my name. :) I have to wait to get my marriage certificate though! But I'm like you in that I'm traditional that way, and I want to have the same last name as our kids. My mom kept her maiden name, and while I never thought twice about it, I always got questions from other people on it.

Also, my husband (so weird to say that!) has an awesome last name. :)

Born to be Mrs. Beever said...

I am changing my name and keeping my middle name. Though I like my current last name more than his, I am a traditionalist about this.

I won't worry about all the paperwork until after we return from the honeymoon and will most likely use a site like MisstoMrs.com to handle this. :)

Ela said...

Keep Elizabeth!!! Please :) I heart that name.

Well, you already know my long story of an answer :)