Originally Posted By Mistress Tissa
But tend to think that what's even more interesting is when a partnership results in a new name for them both. Whether it's hyphenated or a new name altogether. A potential genealogical headache, but fitting symbolically.


I'm open-minded about a lot of things but too damned traditional... yeah old. I don't know. I'm not sure how I would have reacted in "the Dark Ages" when my wife and I got married. In my experience a few longtime couples we know, friends and family, the wives have kept their maiden names professionally (in a couple of cases hyphenated it), but legally the name they use is their husbands. I once worked with a guy who was very forward thinking at the time (around 1980) and when he got married he hyphenated his name.

All of this is about respect, comfort and a bit of practicality (home loans, credit cards... legalities) mixed in.