Are there any downsides to having two last names?
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Anonymous
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I am getting married soon. I plan to still use my last name professionally, but do want to have the same last name as my future kids and see the value in 'changing' my name from a family perspective. I don't like hyphenated last names, so plan to make my legal name "Larla Marie Smith Jones" (Smith being my maiden name, Jones being my husband's name). On anything I need to write a first / last name on, I'd be "Larla Smith Jones". I don't want to make my middle name my maiden name since my current middle name is a family name / a name I'd want to pass down to my own daughter someday.
Curious if anyone else has done this and if there are any inconveniences I should be aware of. |
Anonymous
| I'm sure it's fine. We have friends who have 4 names - I'm just not sure how you fill it out/fit it on standardized forms! I wanted to give my daughter two middle names, but that's what stopped me - ha. You'll have to have a chat w/ the social security people, and make sure when you purchase international air tickets you enter your name the same as your passport.... |
Anonymous
| I kept my middle name and added my maiden name. So I have 2 middle names now. |
Anonymous
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If you want to be called two last names you should hyphenate. I hyphenated but my sisters and friends did not. Long story short: I’m the only one who is recognized as having two last names.
My kids have a hyphenated last name as well. |
Anonymous
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I did this OP and am happy with it. BUT- don’t expect many other people, professionally or socially, to go to the trouble of noting your two last names.
Most people will refer to you as Larla Jones. |
Anonymous
honestly, that's fine with me (my work email will still be "Larla Smith", as will my linkedin.) I really just want my current last name, to still be my last name in some capacity. |
Anonymous
| I think double last names are annoying and unnecessary. Just pick one or the other and be done with it. You won’t be doing your future kids any favors by giving them a complicated double last name. It’s something that doesn’t age well IMO. |
Anonymous
kids will have husband's last name only. - OP |
Anonymous
| The question should be are there any upsides since it’s really all downsides… |
Anonymous
| It’s fine for one generation. It will get complicated down the line of course when two people with two last names marry and their children have four last names and then marry someone else with four last names and the grandchildren have 8 last names. |
Anonymous
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I hyphenated for the "future" (now current) kids and I shouldn't have. I don't see the value in having the same name, especially now that so many women are keeping their names. But at work people stumble over what to call me, since I introduce myself as Smith but Smith-Jones appears on everything legally. I've gotten locked out of websites trying to login because sometimes it's in the system as Smith-Jones, or Smithjones, or Smith Jones, or Smith, or Jones, depending on how someone initially entered it. People we meet assume and call me Jones even though I hate going by Jones. Especially without the hyphen, people will leave out the Smith.
In the grand scheme of life it's a minor annoyance, but it's definitely an annoyance that comes up all the time. |
Anonymous
| Jerseys. It wont fit or will look awkward. |
Anonymous
22:01 again. Don’t do that; it will confuse people because they won’t know you changed your name at all. . Make your linked in and email signature Larla Smith Jones. When they put Larla Jones on your name tag or whatever, correct it if you feel like it or just let it go. |
Anonymous
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The easy solution is to keep your name and use your husband’s last name socially. Give your kids your surname as a middle name so they’re connected to both your names.
I kind of hate how when women get married it’s a bureaucratic nightmare to replace every document and change emails and business cards. It feels very medieval. |
Anonymous
| Just keep your name or don't keep your name. It's just a name, don't put so much thought into it. You are much more than your name. |