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Names

(155 Posts)
Razzy Thu 25-Apr-19 16:23:37

Am I being unreasonable? My mother-in-law refuses to use her grand child’s proper name, because she doesn’t think it is right that we’ve used both my husband’s surname and mine as our child’s last names. We are married but kept our own names. In fact mine is at the very end, but she refuses to use it. It really annoys me and I know my OH had another go at her about it.
I completely understand that it wasn’t like that in her day, but if she wants to use that logic I should give up work and get my husband to pay for everything.
Would it be unreasonable of me to call her Grandma Bob from now on, because I prefer it, instead of Grandma Barbara? ?

Onestepbeyond Sat 27-Apr-19 14:29:31

@maryeliza54 Thanks- I just spat water all over my keyboard...wink

DanniRae Sat 27-Apr-19 15:00:12

I am very puzzled by your post Onestepbeyond because I have gone back through all previous pages and I can't see a post from maryeliza let alone one to make you spit water all over your keyboard??
Can you explain this?
Thank you........I hope your keyboard is not damaged!

123coco Sat 27-Apr-19 15:01:03

* Nonnie *. Well you might think it’s a fad but many people do not. And as for the future, we’ll many European countries manage perfectly well where there are multiple names used and many other countries use the maternal mother and grandmother names as surnames. And the sky doesn’t fall in. I wonder if the Rees-Moggs have been accused as being faddish. No I think this is a view that people who aren’t born with a d-b name are getting above their station! Sad !

breeze Sat 27-Apr-19 15:30:45

Presumably dannirae it was telling op to call the mil Bob. I couldn't find anything side splitting either confused

breeze Sat 27-Apr-19 15:35:29

Page one

Nonnie Sat 27-Apr-19 15:46:56

Anyone else think there are a lot of unusual names on this thread? Maybe they don't normally post on the threads I look at confused

Nonnie Sat 27-Apr-19 15:50:19

123coco I refer you to my previous post where I explained to someone with a DB surname. Perhaps it would have been better to have read on before commenting? Why did you address "No I think this is a view that people who aren’t born with a d-b name are getting above their station! Sad !" to me? I have said nothing of the sort. I always feel it is better to read the posts before retaliating wrongly.

breeze Sat 27-Apr-19 15:56:18

666 had me wondering nonnie shock

DanniRae Sat 27-Apr-19 15:57:23

Thank you breeze......I can't believe that I didn't see that post as it was right near my original post! grin

grandtanteJE65 Sat 27-Apr-19 15:59:44

Yes, your MIL is being rude by not using your child's proper name when, I presume, she writes to him or her, but is this really worth having a family quarrel about?

If you follow some of the suggestions others have made here, you WILL have an almighty row with her. Her rudeness does not IMO entitle you to be just as rude.

I would try to ignore her rudeness after pointing out once again that letters or cards to the child are wrongly addressed.

You and your husband have decided that your child should have both your surnames, as you use the one you were born with. That is your business and a frequent choice these days, so your MIL is the unreasonable one here.

That said, don't let this blow up into a full-scale family row, it isn't worth it.

GreenGran78 Sat 27-Apr-19 16:14:54

My daughter’s partner has a Peruvian double-barrelled name. They agreed that their daughter would just be given the first half as a surname. I don't know what they are going to do when they marry soon. I must ask them. Whatever it is, I will respect it.

TerriBull Sat 27-Apr-19 16:40:20

I sympathise OP, my late father in law persistently changed my son's name by substituting the x at the end of it to a c, short 4 letter name a diminutive of his actual name. It annoyed me a lot at the time, my husband would excuse his father saying the name with the c on the end of it was quite common when his father was young and probably did it my mistake, I didn't think so knowing him as I did, he was always right and had to have the last word on everything. I had to really bite my tongue at times. That one small letter changed the name entirely to one I didn't particularly like.

Nonnie Sat 27-Apr-19 16:49:40

grandtante I agree that the pragmatic thing to do is to simply ignore it. The child can make up its own mind when old enough. I always hated my name being shortened and eventually just told people how I felt and they understood, well except my mother!

agnurse Sat 27-Apr-19 16:50:37

I would just be sending back any wrongly addressed mail as "no such person at this address".

I am not familiar with Icelandic naming customs, but I do know that in some other Scandinavian countries, the custom in the past was that girls received the last name Father'sfirstnamepossessivedatter/dottir and boys received the last name Father'sfirstnamepossessiveson. For example, my father's name is John. So my sister and I would be Johnsdatter/Johnsdottir and my brothers would be Johnsson.

I don't have a double-barrelled last name but that's because I wanted to take my husband's name and also my maiden and last names are both long and difficult to spell. (One is an Anglicized name and one is actually the German translation of an English name.) I literally learned how to spell my maiden name by hearing my mother spell it on the phone!

Nonnie Sat 27-Apr-19 16:51:19

My DiLs have kept their maiden name but at Christmas and anniversaries I send cards to Mr & Mrs Nonnie. Pretty sure someone would have told me if they minded but I don't think they really mind about such things.

NoddingGanGan Sat 27-Apr-19 17:32:19

I think, if you want to keep your maiden name for professional purposes after marriage it's fair enough but think it makes life easier for others if you both use a double barrel for social purposes afterwards. Think of the palaver when it came to addressing Christmas cards. If everyone followed the same course, instead of addressing dozens of envelopes with, for example, "Mr and Mrs A Smith-Jones and family" we'd end up with, "Mr A Smith, Ms B Jones, Ms C Smith-Jones and Mr D Smith-Jones". which would make a three gin job into a six gin job wink

NannaSazie Sat 27-Apr-19 17:34:40

I'm a little sad that my daughter took her wife's surname and dropped her own altogether, so when her baby is born he/she will have only my DIL's family name. Regardless of my feelings though, I have to respect her choices as an adult and not be a stubborn cow. As for someone who suggested not letting MIL see the child until she does what they want, I am beyond grateful that when my daughter just jokingly said something to that effect while we were all being silly together, my DIL became very serious and said that this baby will NOT be used in that way, as blackmail or a bargaining chip. I'm fortunate that these girls are very level-headed and reasonable, even if I don't always agree with them!

Rocknroll5me Sat 27-Apr-19 18:22:52

It’s not about calling the child by the name is it? As everyone says how often is that? It’s about sexual politics and her denial of your need to keep your birth name and add it to her sons ... or does she accept your married name of the two surnames with yours last ( thereby the most important one) with her sons name being reduced to a middle name?.. . this is where the crossness lies.
Just tell her you understand her irritation and say you’re sorry but that’s the way it is.
My mother in law said I had no right to ‘her’ family name after I divorced her son!
I have a daughter in law who has the most bizarre name and has named her children bizarrely as well so you can hardly tell the difference between the names....its her choice and in her gift. Some of us are bound to draw bum straws. You’ve thought long and hard and seriously about your name, she’s on a losing battle, no need for you to get upset about it.

Iam64 Sat 27-Apr-19 18:58:21

Blimey - what a fuss about names. 'Ms" seen as awful, people who don't toe the patriarchal line being seen as trendy or awkward.
I must live in a very different world than some contributors and if so, I'm happy to be here
smile

icanhandthemback Sat 27-Apr-19 19:55:19

Ellie666, if you just read the posts you’d know where Grandma Bob came from or, to quote you, ”Are you just being thick?” grin

Marianne1953 Sat 27-Apr-19 20:11:20

My Daughter is called Francesca with the C sounding Franchesca, my Grannie always insisted it was pronounced Franssesca, as ses. We thought it was funny and gave up arguing.

ReadyMeals Sat 27-Apr-19 20:16:26

NannaSazie my daughter for some reason decided to adopt my maiden name at some point in her life - I had a married name when she was born but for some reason she felt moved to revive the ancestral name!

Doversole Sat 27-Apr-19 20:39:14

Ellie666, I have a double barrelled name. I am neither ‘up my own backside’ nor do I think I’m better than anyone else. My husband’s family as far back as we know has this name, it’s on all the birth certs, death certs and passports. It’s our legal name.

NotSpaghetti Sat 27-Apr-19 23:46:12

Sorry to disappoint you Nonny but it was common in some communities to put surnames together in this way in order to differentiate between families.

www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofWales/The-History-of-Welsh-Surnames/

NotSpaghetti Sat 27-Apr-19 23:56:36

Rocknroll5me you have hit the nail on the head here... it is about gender politics.
Razzy’s irritating mother in law just can’t bear the fact that the world has moved on and women can now make choices as equal partners in a relationship.