Did you, have you, would you change your surname?

Well done Daddimas son! A real new man!

I didn’t give it a thought when I married. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest . I can’t see it really matters.
I know that I am not my husbands chattel and, more importantly, so does he!
Perhaps in this day and age I may have made a decision to keep my maiden name. One more thing to think about.

I don’t mind what surname I’m known by, as long as it’s polite!

I changed my birth surname by 4 letters only when I got married anyway.

I changed then 45 years ago ,also changed religion...well not really but married in church of Scotland brought the children up in it .His very old fashioned dad would have made my life hell otherwise .The first thing he told me when we said we were getting married was if you take his name you take his religion.West of Scotland Catholic/protestant isn't as bad nowadays .I've always been happy t be known by my married name ,I love my husband and my life so why wouldn't I?

As long as it wasn't Longbottom, Shufflebottom or Sidebottom I wouldn't worry.

Then, unfortunately, there are those who come from a long line of Pratts.

My dd didn’t take her husband’s name. That was at least partly because she was known professionally by her own name and it would have been a hassle to change it - and partly out of principle.
Their children have his name, however.

This meant that when we were driving with her and first very little Gdd to France, she had to take Gdd’s birth certificate, to prove to passport control that she was her mother, and wasn’t abducting her. And they did ask to see it, which I was pleased to see.

My son took his wife’s surname when they married, as he thought married people should have the same name, and she wanted to keep her ( more exotic!) surname.

I changed my surname twice as I’ve been married twice, I never liked either of them but it was the done thing then. I love my maiden name but since I became a widow I can’t be bothered with all the faff I’d have to take care of to change it back.

I changed my name when we married 44 years ago. I do’t think I had ever realised that I didn’t need to.
Nowadays I would keep my own name , it’s much nicer.
Even after all these years I don’t really think of myself in terms of my married name.

Anyone who has been on Ancestry researching family history may have come across this, one child in the family would having a strange first name, particularly if it wasn't a common surname, this was often an indicator that it was the mother's maiden name, a way of passing that name on. Something I came across on 19th century censuses.

I remember when my sister married in 1975, she opted to keep her own name. My grandmother was scandalised and it still makes me laugh when I recall her reaction which was ‘Oh my word! Whatever will the postman think!’ ?

I took my first husbands surname and have kept it with his agreement. We have kids together and I wanted to keep the same name as them, plus it's rather unique and I like it. When I remarried I held on to my name and glad I did as the marriage didn't last and I can't be doing with chopping and changing names.

I changed my name, as was usual at the time, on my first marriage and kept it after separation mainly to be the same as my daughter. Changed again on 2nd marriage even though it sounds odd (husband 2 isn't British) with my Scottish christian name.
Where my husband is from it's not really the norm to change and involves filling in special forms after marriage ... possibly like deed poll. As I was using the former husbands name it was better to switch and I've kind of got used to it now !

Thanks for all the interesting posts.One thing I did notice when I was in Scotland is that their gravestones often have the wife's maiden (sorry it's easiest) name on them.

A relative who very surprisingly took her husband’s name when they married a few years ago has announced that they are both changing it to the name (not surname) of a well known suffragette . Oh well, each to her own... I believe for a few ££ it can be done on the internet.

TerriBull yes you would still get a man's surname even if you kept your father's, that's why babies should have had their surname through the female line since Adam and Eve!

I took my husband’s name happily, as it’s a lovely one, my maiden name was alright too, but in any case, fifty years ago I didn’t know anyone who kept their maiden name, it wasn’t really the done thing.
I have never regarded it as anything other than tradition, as women haven’t been considered the property of their husband for a long time.You could say, that having your Father’s name foisted upon you means you are the property of your Father ( and again, it’s a long time since that was the case.)Today there is the luxury of choice when you marry, and do exactly as you like.I do wonder though, about all those double barrelled names......what happens when their children grow up and marry?

Maiden name, birth name whatever, mine was foreign, I spent my school life, particularly when the register was called being mispronounced, thanks grandad even if I'd taken my mother's surname, she was also had the same indignity as her surname was French. Then what did I do when I married for the first time acquire a French surname, and spent a few more years at work hearing people get that wrong

Finally, got an English surname when I married my husband some 35 or so years ago, unfortunately it was made famous by a a bit of a w****r c'leb a quite famous personality, although having the name elevated to high profile, did help when checking into hotels, because there was a propensity by some to not get the name right. Although there was an occasion in America when the receptionist said "Oh my God he's not a relative of yours is he?" "Thankfully no" came our riposte.

I understand why people want to keep their birth name, but one way or another you are still getting a man's name! I remember hearing Janet Street-Porter kept that surname from a few husbands ago, because she liked the name more than hers

I took my husband's name about 40 odd years ago. It was much more exotic than my very commonplace maiden name. He passed away nearly ten years ago and I wouldn't dream of changing back. Would I change it if I married again? Possibly not but never say never.

I've been married twice. Once to a Spaniard about 200 years ago and now to a Brit.

I had a boring maiden name. Do we still say 'maiden name'?

My married name now is equally boring

The only exciting one I had was my Spanish husband's surname

However, in reality the Spanish don't take their husband's surnames

I just decided to buck that trend

I am now back to boring

But I shall survive

I took my husband's name when we married which I was and am fine with; it is a more distinctive name than my own. When my DD married she kept her own surname as is the norm with young couples. My DGD has her father's surname and her mother's surname is one of her middle names.

I wouldn’t have taken my husband’s name or become double -barrelled if that had been a common option 44 years ago,

I used my married name after divorce while my son was young and then reverted to maiden name later.
My second son has his dad's surname (my partner) so of course for many it was presumed mine was the same and I was often called Mrs * and on occasion had to explain that I wasn't.

I changed my name when I married and didn't think much about it. When my husband died, it didn't occur to me to change it back to my birth name.

If I married again, I think I might change my name if I preferred the new surname. My surname/last name isn't something that interests me much.

I kept my married name after divorce because I wanted to have the same surname as my sons and grandchildren.
My divorce was amicable though, so maybe I would have felt differently if it wasn't.