DH has a difficult last name for many Americans to pronounce. We've been in other countries and had no issue with pronunciation. I chose to tack his name on (no hyphen) to mine after a space. Most people give a long pause after my maiden name before attempting DH's name. I automatically know they are calling on me. Doing things this way (no hyphen) can be a pain depending on what computer system is in use. Some won't allow spaces, some have trouble with the length, some drop either name, and some run the two names together. They kids have DH's last name. When I registered them for school, I only every use DH's last name for mine. So, we never have an issue there. I did the same for most registrations.

Anonymous wrote:10yo with hyphenated last name. Hasn't been a problem with passports, plane tickets, etc.

Wait until the said kid needs to deal with health insurance, credit report, drivers license, and myriad of other systems.

I have one, which is byproduct of transliteration into English, so something along the lines of Mc-Donald rather than Jones-Smith. Because of how different computer systems treat the hyphen, my name is written as Mc-Donald, Mc Donald, Mcdonald, and often as just Mc, or Donald. Just save your kid the trouble of dealing with the hyphen their whole life.

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that when you get a hyphenated last name, you also get an entire phrase (for the rest of your life) as in “my name is Jane Smith-Jones that’s a hyphenated last name”

Forever and ever and ever and ever ....

Yep, or if you're in the south, depending on what the names are, they'll think your first name is a double name. Example, Sarah Burke Smith's first name is Sarah Burke and her last name is Smith, which southern people will understand, but Sarah Burke-Smith will be called Sarah Burke since they'll assume that's her first name since hyphenated last names aren't as common as double first names.

Anonymous wrote:As a training manager hyphenated names are a nightmare in an LMS system. Hate them with the fire of a thousand suns.

You hate the names, but not the crappy data entry system you have to work with?

My husband has a hyphenated last name; he hates it.

Keep in mind that when you get a hyphenated last name, you also get an entire phrase (for the rest of your life) as in “my name is Jane Smith-Jones that’s a hyphenated last name”

Forever and ever and ever and ever ....

Anonymous wrote:We didn’t hyphenate. I gave all kids my last name as a middle. DH’s mom did the same thing. The kids like having the same middle name and how it connects them to me and my parents’.

Our same plan (only have one kid so far)

I would advise others to avoid the hassles of a hyphenated name for kids

We didn’t hyphenate. I gave all kids my last name as a middle. DH’s mom did the same thing. The kids like having the same middle name and how it connects them to me and my parents’.

I have one from birth, and it can be a pain in limited circumstances (forms and whatnot), but it's not a big deal at all to me. I proudly kept it when I married my husband, gave my kid his last name (cultural pride reasons) and also gave her my ridiculously long hyphenated last name as a second middle name, of which she is also proud.

10yo with hyphenated last name. Hasn't been a problem with passports, plane tickets, etc.

My kids have flown countless times with a hyphenated name and it’s never been an issue. If the airline doesn’t accept hyphens we just put a space.
Kids have short first names though (one 3 letter and one 4 letter) and our last names are short (so combined only 3 syllables).

As a training manager hyphenated names are a nightmare in an LMS system. Hate them with the fire of a thousand suns.

DD (13 y.o) has a hyphenated name and she's very proud of it. I've told her she can shorten it when she's older but she looks at me and says "why would I ever do that?!"