How would you design address labels/stamps with two last names?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is a forward slash different or better than a hyphen?

What statement do you feel you are making with a forward slash?

Why not use an asterisk?

/ is commonly used to denote or.

As in and/or, or his/her, or Roma/Sinti/Gypsy. We don't say and-or or and*or.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is a forward slash different or better than a hyphen?

What statement do you feel you are making with a forward slash?

Why not use an asterisk?

/ is commonly used to denote or.

As in and/or, or his/her, or Roma/Sinti/Gypsy. We don't say and-or or and*or.

Why not Smith & Jones?

Because it looks too much like a business partnership perhaps?

I think the forward slash looks silly at best. At worst, it looks like you're literally trying to throw up a wall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are the Smith-Jones family...as evidenced by the fact that Smith and Jones bred and named their progeny Smith-Jones.

They are not the Smith-Jones family unless they want to be the Smith-Jones family.

If they didn't want to be the Smith-Jones family, then why on earth did they procreate and name their kids Smith-Jones?

The world believes they are the Smith-Jones family. And by the world, I mean the school,neighborhood and school friends, the doctors office, their coaches, etc.

I mean, what do they think their family name is if it isn't Smith-Jones, the surname they gave their kids?

I have a friend who has that structure and INSISTS that her family has three separate last names. Smith, Jones, and Smith-Jones are not three separate/distinct last names

[Anonymous]

The Smith-Jones Family

[Anonymous]

We have done

Smith/Jones
600 Anyplace Lane

and

Smith • Jones
600 Anyplace Lane

and one great stamp which featured a bold Smith and an outlined Jones right next to each other—no space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are the Smith-Jones family...as evidenced by the fact that Smith and Jones bred and named their progeny Smith-Jones.

They are not the Smith-Jones family unless they want to be the Smith-Jones family.

If they didn't want to be the Smith-Jones family, then why on earth did they procreate and name their kids Smith-Jones?

The world believes they are the Smith-Jones family. And by the world, I mean the school,neighborhood and school friends, the doctors office, their coaches, etc.

I mean, what do they think their family name is if it isn't Smith-Jones, the surname they gave their kids?

I have a friend who has that structure and INSISTS that her family has three separate last names. Smith, Jones, and Smith-Jones are not three separate/distinct last names

Legally and in everyone’s database, these are three different last names. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I mean, what do they think their family name is if it isn't Smith-Jones, the surname they gave their kids?

I have a friend who has that structure and INSISTS that her family has three separate last names. Smith, Jones, and Smith-Jones are not three separate/distinct last names

Why not?

Last name #1: Smith
Last name #2: Jones
Last name #3: Smith-Jones

[Anonymous]

My husband also chose not to take my last name, and the two together don’t lend themselves to graceful, succinct hyphenation. (Think Smithington and Jonavolous.) But friends long ago organically combined our names, so that for party invites, neighborhood listserv, and other informal correspondence we’re the Joningtons. We use that for our address labels, which really only get trotted out at Xmas. Since those cards just go to family and friends, it works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I mean, what do they think their family name is if it isn't Smith-Jones, the surname they gave their kids?

I have a friend who has that structure and INSISTS that her family has three separate last names. Smith, Jones, and Smith-Jones are not three separate/distinct last names

Why not?

Last name #1: Smith
Last name #2: Jones
Last name #3: Smith-Jones

Technically (and officially/legally), yes...3 separate lastnames.

But practically speaking, the world considers them the Smith-Jones family.

Professionally you can be Suzy Smith. But once Larla goes to school, you are Mrs. Smith-Jones...or more often simply "Larla's mom."

I'm curious why any mother would go to such great lengths to distinguish herself from her children? I don't get it. Again: be Suzy Smith at work, on your passport and whenever you fill out paperwork. Introduce yourself as Suzy Smith...Larla Smith-Jones mom. But for your annual holiday card or address labels, why not be the Smith-Jones family? Why???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is a forward slash different or better than a hyphen?

What statement do you feel you are making with a forward slash?

Why not use an asterisk?

The hyphen is an actual part of the name of one person in the family—our kid. He doesn’t send mail yet, so it makes no sense for his name to be the one on the return address stamp.

Don’t worry; this isn’t that confusing to people other than you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But practically speaking, the world considers them the Smith-Jones family.

Professionally you can be Suzy Smith. But once Larla goes to school, you are Mrs. Smith-Jones...or more often simply "Larla's mom."

I'm curious why any mother would go to such great lengths to distinguish herself from her children? I don't get it. Again: be Suzy Smith at work, on your passport and whenever you fill out paperwork. Introduce yourself as Suzy Smith...Larla Smith-Jones mom. But for your annual holiday card or address labels, why not be the Smith-Jones family? Why???

Please stop speaking for the world. YOU consider them the Smith-Jones family.

Are you also curious why any father would go to such great lengths to distinguish himself from his children? Professionally he can be John Jones, but once Larla Smith-Jones goes to school, he is Mr. Smith-Jones...or more often simply Larla's dad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is a forward slash different or better than a hyphen?

What statement do you feel you are making with a forward slash?

Why not use an asterisk?

The hyphen is an actual part of the name of one person in the family—our kid. He doesn’t send mail yet, so it makes no sense for his name to be the one on the return address stamp.

Don’t worry; this isn’t that confusing to people other than you.

I think you might be surprised what others think about your insistence that you and your spouse and children have 3 different last names.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But practically speaking, the world considers them the Smith-Jones family.

Professionally you can be Suzy Smith. But once Larla goes to school, you are Mrs. Smith-Jones...or more often simply "Larla's mom."

I'm curious why any mother would go to such great lengths to distinguish herself from her children? I don't get it. Again: be Suzy Smith at work, on your passport and whenever you fill out paperwork. Introduce yourself as Suzy Smith...Larla Smith-Jones mom. But for your annual holiday card or address labels, why not be the Smith-Jones family? Why???

Please stop speaking for the world. YOU consider them the Smith-Jones family.

Are you also curious why any father would go to such great lengths to distinguish himself from his children? Professionally he can be John Jones, but once Larla Smith-Jones goes to school, he is Mr. Smith-Jones...or more often simply Larla's dad?

Yes, the same goes for dad. He is Larla's dad. Kids will call him Mr. Smith-Jones if that's Larla's lastname. Most kids assume that families have the same last name unless there's a divorce/remarriage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is a forward slash different or better than a hyphen?

What statement do you feel you are making with a forward slash?

Why not use an asterisk?

The hyphen is an actual part of the name of one person in the family—our kid. He doesn’t send mail yet, so it makes no sense for his name to be the one on the return address stamp.

Don’t worry; this isn’t that confusing to people other than you.

I think you might be surprised what others think about your insistence that you and your spouse and children have 3 different last names.

DP. What other people think is: yup, that's true, there are 3 different last names in that household/family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, the same goes for dad. He is Larla's dad. Kids will call him Mr. Smith-Jones if that's Larla's lastname. Most kids assume that families have the same last name unless there's a divorce/remarriage.

Kids whose parents have different last names don't.

You're not arguing, are you, that John Jones should change his last name to Smith-Jones because elementary-school classmates of Larla Smith-Jones will assume that his last name is Smith-Jones? Let alone that John Jones's failure to change his last name to Smith-Jones demonstrates that he's going to great lengths to distinguish himself from his daughter? (Probably everybody is pretty clear on the idea that John Jones and Larla Smith-Jones are different people.)