Do you like your name? If your name was as funny as POPU(and if you aren’t generous enough to trade your name for giving people a good laugh, no offence to POPU whoever it is) or as weird as BULAUNCHUAUNCHU(Haven’t met someone named that YET), then I could consider that you may not like your name much.But in all the other cases, you are most likely a person who does like her/his name.
My affinity for my name makes me wonder, why on earth did the first girl who changed her (sur)name after marriage did so? She either had an ugly name, or she probably didn’t deny when she was asked to change her own name. But another important question is, why did it strike anyone at all that a girl is supposed to change her (sur)name after marriage?
I thought about googling the history of it, but then dropped the idea.(Why should I waste my energy on something I don’t really believe in?)
Some say, a girl does that out of her love for her future husband. That makes me think , doesn’t the guy love her future wife in that case? I have never heard of a guy changing his (sur)name after marriage!(I later discovered, there ARE a few men who do change their (sur)names after marriage, but their number is very less.)
Wait, another question. Why is only a father’s (sur)name inherited by their kids? Why not both parents’?
Or, may be a coin flip would help incase a shorter name is preferred.
I wish to leave this upto the kids to ponder. But for the moment, the topic is, Why do women change their (sur)name after marriage? A little research about it made me happier, as I came to know that there are certain countries where women don’t change their (sur)names, but that is again a small number.
Just in case you are a woman, and you were about to change your (sur)name without giving a second thought to it, stop, and give it a thought! It’s perfectly legal to keep your own (sur)name after marriage.
And if you are a man who is in love, please consider the idea of changing your (sur)name to show your love for your lovely wife to-be. That is perfectly legal too.
If you are single like myself, be glad you don’t have to choose anything. Just be glad that you have a lovely name, and it is totally safe with you.
Note: If your name is slightly weird, I didn’t intend to hurt your feelings(I sometimes find my nickname a little weird, but I still love it).What matters is, whatever your name is, it is your name. I like the names of a lot of people because I like those people. I save this for another post.
avani … i m lovin ur posts
i got a think alike in you in my life
Avani, my dear, you are, if anything, endowed with some considerable ego.
As for the following: Why is only a father’s (sur)name inherited by their kids? Why not both parents’?
Millions of people have both their father’s and mother’s name (surname) It is common in all Latin American countries to name a child as –for example–Marie Karma Geraldo de Montenegro. The first two names are given names, the next is the mother’s name and the last the father’s name. This is also a commonly used in North America, where it would become; “Marie Karma Geraldo Montenegro.
“What’s in a name”?–A question asked by a lot of people, but there is quite distinct cultural (and in many countries) legal customs behind naming a child. A woman taking her husband’s last name upon marriage has certain advantages in that it makes it quite a lot easier to trace a family genealogically. I can trace mine to 1659, only because of this custom. There is no reason, however, for the opposite not being possible–that is, for a man to adapt his wife’s surname. This is used in matriarchal societies.
I don’t know the customs of naming a child in Asian countries, but I’m sure they use some kind of a logic system.
Hello Grandpa
I myself use my father’s name as a surname and I like that. I am aware that both the parents’ names are also used in some countries. But while writing this post, I only had an Indian audience on my mind. It isn’t common in India that a child inherits his mother’s name.
As for a woman taking her husband’s lastname, a lot of Indian women don’t like changing their name but yet do it, for the sake of tradition. Personally, I don’t like the idea of changing mine, and there are a lot of girls like me. The post might have sounded biased as I only had India in my mind for most part. I am not against any naming system. But I value equality in gender.To me, the wish to keep my name unchanged isn’t a matter of ego, but rather of personal freedom, which I respect highly.
I appreciate your efforts to enlighten me.
Avani