Randomness

[WarpGirl]

Ah, but the name one is born with also denotes lineage. I am my father's daughter. His genes are in me. So his name is also mine. And when I become an adult and am no longer his responsibility (I was never his property) should I not choose whether I wish to continue to identify with my genetic heritage? Why should I be forced to give that up?

But that's a father's genetic heritage, and a mother's maiden name is her father's genetic heritage. So it's anti-feminism anyway. See the whole thing makes no sense if you say you're a feminist.

I just watched a documentary on Feminism, and while I think that there are many valid and legitimate abuses we women put up with make that very many... However, I will never understand how this whole keep your father's last name is an action of feminism. It makes no sense whatsoever.

My own opinion I want to find a good man with a nice name that is easy to spell so I can ditch mine. It's bad enough my first name is always spelled wrong. My last name is also butchered regularly. I'd appreciate a new one.

[Cogito]

But that's a father's genetic heritage, and a mother's maiden name is her father's genetic heritage. So it's anti-feminism anyway. See the whole thing makes no sense if you say you're a feminist.

For a girl to keep the surname she grew up with does strike me as a form of feminism. Whether the surname she grows up with should be her father's surname or her mother's or something derived from either/both/neither is a separate issue.

But for a mother and a father to both insist on keeping their separate surnames feels to me like a contradiction of the principles of a marriage. The surname is supposed (in my view) to designate a family. If people in the family don't all have the same surname then it defeats the point of having a surname and in my view lessens the significance of them considering themselves to be a family. Perhaps in this day and age, where partners change regularly and people grow up used to living with step fathers and step mothers instead of a nuclear family that is inevitable, but it still seems sad to me.

[WarpGirl]

I probably never should have watched the documentery. Because their argumement never made sense to me. But I completely agree with you Cogito if you choose to marry, you're choosing the values of having a unit. Choosing to form a family automatically requires you to put the unit before yourself. If a person doesn't want to do that, then don't form a unit.

[enterprikayak]

The only thing that makes any sense really from a logical point of view is for the new family unit (husband/wife whatever) to choose a NEW name. So if your names were Jane Smith and Joe Larch, you could be Jane and Joe Smarch. Or Jane and Joe Skippitiboo. (Or Jane and Joe Smith-Larch, but that's boring) The point is: if one wants to be logical over it, a new family unit OUGHT to have a new family name. Whether melded or made-up oven fresh.

2 cents lol

[WarpGirl]

Now that makes sense. Kind of like the Jolie-Pitts, Ms. Jolie legally ditched her father's last name, and mashed it with Mr. Pitt for the kids.

[CX]

I'd to the hyphenation only in the sense that collectively the family together would be known that way. Since I can see the appeal of passing on the family name and having that connection back to ancestry, something along the lines of giving the male children the father's surname and the female children the mother's surname would make a little more sense to me. Then again I also like the idea of the woman keeping her maiden name as something like another middle name while taking her husband's last name, but whatever. I also wouldn't fault the man from doing the same kind of thing himself if he wanted to.

[WarpGirl]

In my family names are an issue, go to the family renunion yell "hey James!" and 50 people turn around. Cousins have blamed my dad for their traffic violations because they all have the same given name and the same last name.

Add a last name that is constantly butchered, and my own given name's problems with spelling and it's no wonder I think the family names shouldn't be a lable on whether you're a feminist or not.

[Silverbullet]

Different cultures. I once knew an Icelandic woman. I could not pronounce her first name. She said no one could. then she continued very bitterly, My last name is ....dottir. Or ...Daughter. She didn't have a last name just that she was the daughter of .....

I pointed out that this held true for men too Johanson is actually Johans Son, Ericson is Erics Son and so on. didn't make a dent. She hated that fact that she was only known as ...dottir.

Nice woman

SB

[enterprikayak]

Yeah in Iceland bros and sisters often had diff last names. that would make it really confusing

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

They don't really have last names in Iceland. They have patronymics - names like "son of..." or "daughter of..." Icelandic phonebooks are said to be listed according to a person's first name.

Not too long ago that was the case in the rest of Scandinavia as well, at least among the peasant population. Only the nobility, the clergy and the townspeople had real last names. But then by the late 19th century everyone started getting last names, often they just took the patronymic currently used and made it a last name. That's were all the Johanssons and Anderssons come from.

[panyasan]

In my country every people used to be called like Hendrik Janszoon, meaning Hendrik, son of Jan. Then Napolean came along, we were French for 15 years and the French demanded proper last names. So people called themselves after their profession, like "de Boer" (the farmer), Bakker (backer) or after their orginal tribe (de Vries - frysian) or kept their "Janszoon", which became "Jansen".
So people thought this last name-business wouldn't last long so they called themselved "Naaktgeboren" (born naked), "Poepjes" (poop), Rotmensen (Horriblepeople) to found out that not only the republic turned into a kingdom at the end of the French time, but the names were there to stay. It cost a lot of money to change your name.

[putaro]

My last name is completely generic so when I got married we hyphenated and we both changed our names. Works out well because my wife's name is completely generic in Japan.

[Silverbullet]

Orignally, my families last name was in Gaelic and unprounceable. It meant Champion. Along the way it got Angelsized and became waht it is today. No longeer means Champion. I understand that happened a lot on Ellis Island during the immigrations of the mid 1800's and later.


In Pakistan a man can change his last name at will. He just starts using it. Most men in the islamic world (among the lower classes) are named Mohammed. So the use of the last name is important. If one says Mohammed a whole roomful of heads will turn towards you.

SB

[WarpGirl]

OMG Hendrik and Bakker, two names intrenched in my brother-in-law's family. It's astounding that those came off the top of your head Panyasan. I don't suppose Postma has anything to do with delivering the mail?????

My last name is Irish, easy to say, impossible for most people to spell.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

So people thought this last name-business wouldn't last long so they called themselved "Naaktgeboren" (born naked), "Poepjes" (poop), Rotmensen (Horriblepeople) to found out that not only the republic turned into a kingdom at the end of the French time, but the names were there to stay. It cost a lot of money to change your name.

Poor folks! But I cannot help laughing!