Anonymous wrote:Sergey Brin (of Google fame) and his ex wife did this for their children.

His kids; last name is Wojin. I could have thought of a better one than that!

Anonymous wrote:The prior mayor of LA, Antio Villaraigosa did this--

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Villaraigosa#Personal_life

Personally, I'm not a fan because I wouldn't do it myself-- my last name and my spouse's last name are important to us. Our kids have a hyphenated last name. But I know there are others who don't place a ton of value on family history (no judgment) so why not create something new.

Actually, this guy did it the only way that makes sense. He and his wife changed their last names to the Potmanteau name and then gave that to their children. As in a FAMILY NAME. Like, this is the "Thomwell" family. Instead of Mr. Thompson, Mrs. Maxwell, and their son Larlo Thomwell.

I'm laughing even imagining that. It's so pretentious and dumb.

OP, you and others continue to comment about how this isn't a big deal and people won't even notice. What world do you live in?

If my your husband's name is Jones and your name is Smith and your child's name is Jonith people WILL ask and it'll be something people ask often, because it's just obvious enough that it's a mash up. So by choosing to do this you're saying "yes, having people ask about my son's last name all the time is something that sounds like an enjoyable experience" which means that you are TRYING TOO HARD.

Please tell us what your child's first name will be. I'm guessing something totally uNiQuE.

I would feel a little sad about losing the exact name of either parent, because of family tree/heritage things, but that's an emotional response. But probably one I could get over pretty quickly. You play it up as a positive thing, your kid will think of it as a positive thing.

So, go for it if it's something you both like. I don't think it will ever seem trashy. Just different. And different isn't bad.

I think your husband needs to get over it. If you both agree NOT to use his name and you both like your name better, it seems like a no brainer. Otherwise you are creating a whole new name with all the hassles just to appease your husband.

Sergey Brin (of Google fame) and his ex wife did this for their children.

I think this is a lovely idea, OP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you'll end up doing a LOT of explaining if you go the mash up route, OP. If you're okay with that, go for it.

Why? Let's say that the adult last names in the family are Layhill and Newton, and the child's last name is Layton.

If you didn't know the parents' last names, why would you ask the parents about their child's last name of Layton? And if you did know the parents' last names, it seems rather obvious how the child got the last name of Layton, so why would you ask? I suppose you could ask, "Why did you give the child a combined last name?", if you wanted to be nosy, although again the answer seems obvious: because the parents thought it was a good idea.

Because if I meet somebody and their kid has a different last name (and mine has a different last name from me), I assume they have the other parent's last name. If I knew the mom was Layhill and the kid was Layton, I'd remark, "oh interesting your [mom's and dad's] names are pretty similar!" Or if I were familiar with the parents' names, I'd ask where the kid's last name came from. I'm not a nosey person, but I think most people would "notice" or whatever if the family had 3 last names.

I'm interested to see what society comes up with as a solution for this since I didn't take DH's name and it bugs me my kids only have his name.

Tennessee will not let you put a combined name on a birth certificate:

http://www.npr.org/2014/09/15/347954339/creating-your-baby-s-last-name-tennessee-says-no
http://attorneygeneral.tn.gov/op/2014/op14-75.pdf

I think that's a good reason to do it, right there.

Also in Tennessee, for a married couple, just the mother's last name requires agreement from the father, but just the father's last name does not seem to require agreement from the mother.

Anonymous wrote:I've never heard of doing this and would strongly advise against it. Just seems weird and like you are trying way too hard.

Where do you live? I know several people who have done this.

Also, trying way too hard to what?

The prior mayor of LA, Antio Villaraigosa did this--

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Villaraigosa#Personal_life

Personally, I'm not a fan because I wouldn't do it myself-- my last name and my spouse's last name are important to us. Our kids have a hyphenated last name. But I know there are others who don't place a ton of value on family history (no judgment) so why not create something new.

I've never heard of doing this and would strongly advise against it. Just seems weird and like you are trying way too hard.

Anonymous wrote:I think you'll end up doing a LOT of explaining if you go the mash up route, OP. If you're okay with that, go for it.

Why? Let's say that the adult last names in the family are Layhill and Newton, and the child's last name is Layton.

If you didn't know the parents' last names, why would you ask the parents about their child's last name of Layton? And if you did know the parents' last names, it seems rather obvious how the child got the last name of Layton, so why would you ask? I suppose you could ask, "Why did you give the child a combined last name?", if you wanted to be nosy, although again the answer seems obvious: because the parents thought it was a good idea.

Anonymous wrote:Hyphenate the kids names. You keep yours, and he keeps his. Or you take the hyphenated last name and he keeps his (that's what we did).

But don't make up a new last name...it's ridiculous. Plus, you are ruining your family tree and denying your heritage.

Lots of people on my family tree have different last names then I do... For example, my mothers parents, and each of their parents, and all of their parents. How is this "ruining" it?

I think you'll end up doing a LOT of explaining if you go the mash up route, OP. If you're okay with that, go for it.