I think this sounds like a lovely idea, and I know a handful of families who have done it. I also don't think you'll get any flak from schools or whatnot, except that folks will probably call you the Patil family because I've noticed the school defaults to the kids' last name for that purpose.

Anonymous wrote:I think this whole "name your kid" craze has gotten OUT OF CONTROL.
This idea is just the ODDEST yet.
It's not all about you, parents. Quit making you kid a FREAK when choosing their name.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There are all the small, incremental hardships during the child's life where having a different last name causes various difficulties, headaches and dramas.

Which small, incremental hardships? I've had a different last name from my child since my child was born 13 years ago, and I haven't noticed any. I haven't even noticed any difficulties, headaches, or drama. Perhaps I'm just not paying attention?

This. I just can't see any situation in which it's seriously a hassle. And plenty of moms don't share last names with their kids. Changing two adult names seems like a much bigger hassle that will actually lead to hassles for years to come.

Anonymous wrote:I think this whole "name your kid" craze has gotten OUT OF CONTROL.
This idea is just the ODDEST yet.
It's not all about you, parents. Quit making you kid a FREAK when choosing their name.

If you think that this idea is the ODDEST yet, then I infer that your experience with ODD (not to mention FREAKY) is quite limited.

I think this whole "name your kid" craze has gotten OUT OF CONTROL.
This idea is just the ODDEST yet.
It's not all about you, parents. Quit making you kid a FREAK when choosing their name.

Anonymous wrote:Well, I will be the voice of reality. I know a couple who did this and while there is nothing wrong with it, it has become a private joke between me and my husband. Most of our friends think it is totally ridiculous too. Nobody ever talks about it because we are civilized and PC, though, there is just the little eye roll when it is used. the kid is only a few years old so perhaps we will all adjust eventually and that will go away. But there's that.

Many of our friends did double last names for kids because they are two professional families where both kept their names. they seem to order them based on what sounds best.

You roll your eyes at your friends' choice of last name for their child? I hope that your friends find better friends.

Well, I will be the voice of reality. I know a couple who did this and while there is nothing wrong with it, it has become a private joke between me and my husband. Most of our friends think it is totally ridiculous too. Nobody ever talks about it because we are civilized and PC, though, there is just the little eye roll when it is used. the kid is only a few years old so perhaps we will all adjust eventually and that will go away. But there's that.

Many of our friends did double last names for kids because they are two professional families where both kept their names. they seem to order them based on what sounds best.

Anonymous wrote:

There are all the small, incremental hardships during the child's life where having a different last name causes various difficulties, headaches and dramas.

Which small, incremental hardships? I've had a different last name from my child since my child was born 13 years ago, and I haven't noticed any. I haven't even noticed any difficulties, headaches, or drama. Perhaps I'm just not paying attention?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if you want a portmanteau name, the parents should have adopted it when they got married. I think it would be more of a hassle to have 3 different last names in the same family for no real reason.

+1 This is what I was going to reply with. The reason my child is firstname middlename mylastname husband'slastname is because we both wanted our child to have our last name for logistical reasons such as travel and school pick ups, etc. Giving your DC a portmanteau name without yourself taking it just seems like a unneeded hardship.

Why not have you and DH change your last names to the portmanteau name before baby is born so that you can legally give your child that name when he is born in DC? And added bonus, you'll all have the same name.

Comparison of hardships:

Putting a child's name on a birth certificate.

vs.

Changing the names of two adults, plus putting a child's name on a birth certificate.

I don't know if you can call any of this a hardship, come on. Also, there are plenty of parents who have different last names from their kids for a variety of reasons and somehow they work things out. OP, you have to make the choice your comfortable with but I'm not seeing any compelling reason not to do this here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if you want a portmanteau name, the parents should have adopted it when they got married. I think it would be more of a hassle to have 3 different last names in the same family for no real reason.

+1 This is what I was going to reply with. The reason my child is firstname middlename mylastname husband'slastname is because we both wanted our child to have our last name for logistical reasons such as travel and school pick ups, etc. Giving your DC a portmanteau name without yourself taking it just seems like a unneeded hardship.

Why not have you and DH change your last names to the portmanteau name before baby is born so that you can legally give your child that name when he is born in DC? And added bonus, you'll all have the same name.

Comparison of hardships:

Putting a child's name on a birth certificate.

vs.

Changing the names of two adults, plus putting a child's name on a birth certificate.

There are all the small, incremental hardships during the child's life where having a different last name causes various difficulties, headaches and dramas.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if you want a portmanteau name, the parents should have adopted it when they got married. I think it would be more of a hassle to have 3 different last names in the same family for no real reason.

+1 This is what I was going to reply with. The reason my child is firstname middlename mylastname husband'slastname is because we both wanted our child to have our last name for logistical reasons such as travel and school pick ups, etc. Giving your DC a portmanteau name without yourself taking it just seems like a unneeded hardship.

Why not have you and DH change your last names to the portmanteau name before baby is born so that you can legally give your child that name when he is born in DC? And added bonus, you'll all have the same name.

Comparison of hardships:

Putting a child's name on a birth certificate.

vs.

Changing the names of two adults, plus putting a child's name on a birth certificate.

Anonymous wrote:Give birth in Maryland.

I'd really like to learn more about these rules. I'm not positive but I think in California one can give their child any name, no need to show proof of anything. I could be wrong though.

Anonymous wrote:I think if you want a portmanteau name, the parents should have adopted it when they got married. I think it would be more of a hassle to have 3 different last names in the same family for no real reason.

+1 This is what I was going to reply with. The reason my child is firstname middlename mylastname husband'slastname is because we both wanted our child to have our last name for logistical reasons such as travel and school pick ups, etc. Giving your DC a portmanteau name without yourself taking it just seems like a unneeded hardship.

Why not have you and DH change your last names to the portmanteau name before baby is born so that you can legally give your child that name when he is born in DC? And added bonus, you'll all have the same name.

Give birth in Maryland.

OP here. People who know people who have done this - where were they located? DC has some rules about what last name can go on the birth certificate, so I'm wondering if they will give us a hard time about it...

http://cssd.dc.gov/page/birth-certificates

"The child’s last name on a birth certificate

District law determines the last name (or “surname”) that can be given to a child. The last name can be:

The mother’s surname when the child was born;
The father’s surname when the child was born;
Both parents’ names, recorded in any order, hyphenated or unhyphenated; or
Any surname to which either the mother or father has a familial connection. The District’s Vital Records Division requires a parent to sign an affidavit attesting to the familial connection.

For the father’s last name to be the child’s last name, he has to be recognized by law as the father. "