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07 June 2006

Ask Mecha A newspaper reporter interviewed me today about my previously hyphenated name and my system regarding it—I've written about it many places, but she found me via MeFi.

What she really needs, though, is some expert opinion on the hyphenated trend and some stats and other authoritative data.→[More:]Any bunnies out there know anyone who is specializing in this?

(And I very deliberately gave dame credit as the only other person I've heard of who's come up with the same system.)

post by: kmellis at: 13:28 | 16 comments

Phew. Because I didn't want to come all the way down there just to take you out.

(Thanks. And I'm sorry I can't help with the rest. I can tell her all about having a hyphenated last name though.)

posted by dame 07 June | 13:47

What is the system? I'm interested in hearing about this.
saf and I are going to hyphenate MyLast-HisLast when we get married.

posted by krix 07 June | 13:47

Not expert opinion, but there are very good discussions on the forums at indiebride.com. One whole forum is devoted to the ins and outs of not changing, or changing your name, and all the combinations and permutations therein.

posted by gaspode 07 June | 13:47

krix: Here's the link to kmellis' system.

For some reason, I find this utterly fascinating. One of my friends got engaged recently and I tried to sell him on kmellis' system, but they're doing the traditional thing. Bah.

posted by mullacc 07 June | 14:07

Great system, K Melle Mel. I was a Steven Johnson-Fa'amoe for nigh onto three years myself. My driver's license and library cards still show this, by the way.

posted by Lipstick Thespian 07 June | 14:20

My ex-husband and I tried to hyphenate both our names but it never took for either of us. Of course, neither did the marriage.

posted by matildaben 07 June | 14:41

That's funny, I've been reading about this all day at Bitch Ph.D.

No stats, but the comments are interesting.

posted by occhiblu 07 June | 14:56

Thanks for the comments. I don't know who else she's talked to. It'll be in tomorrow's The Gainesville Sun.

posted by kmellis 07 June | 15:11

Thanks for that link, occhiblu. It contains (and so near the start!) my favorite anti-hyphenation argument ever: it's a burden. Neither I nor anyone else I know who had a hyphenated last name from birth felt like it was a burden. I can't help but get the feeling that it's like girls imagining having a penis: it seems like it'd be all sticky-out & weird, but that's because you've never had one.

posted by dame 07 June | 15:15

My driver's license and library cards still show this, by the way.

I still haven't fixed it with the social security administration. Been meaning to. For eleven years. I'm a very bad procrastinator.

It came up when I was talking with a SSA guy during my disability application. He was like, "Oh, we'll fix that". And I was like, "Um, you're a huge bureaucracy. You're telling me that in the middle of the processing of my application for disability, you can change my name and it won't break anything? Please don't. Really. Thanks, but I'll do it later."

posted by kmellis 07 June | 15:21

Thanks, dame. Yeah, so many of the arugments are "Think of the children!!!" which, like most think - of - the - children arguments, come across as such silly handwaving.

posted by occhiblu 07 June | 15:29

Neither I nor anyone else I know who had a hyphenated last name from birth felt like it was a burden.

I would guess the only "burden" is that the parents might be annoyed if they have to answer a bunch of questions about their kid's name during first few months after birth. I imagine some stodgy grandparents could be really bitchy about it.

posted by mullacc 07 June | 15:39

Thanks mullacc:) It is a fascinating system.
We won't be having children so I'm not worried about that. I'm mostly concerned with the paperwork stuff, and also how hard it will be for the groom to make the change.

posted by krix 07 June | 15:44

Well, just the man taking a hyphenated name was prety weird 16 years ago. My dad's family mostly ignored it.

But one evening my grandmother (Ellis) called me. She asked me, "Keith, is your name 'McIntyre-Ellis'??"

"Yes, Grandma, that's what it is."

"Well, I think they just said your name on Channel 7 News."

"They did??"

"Yes, I think you won something. I'm not sure."

Turned out my wife had entered a drawing. We won a ski trip. It was all-expenses paid. Although we discovered that, apparently, eating isn't an "expense".

posted by kmellis 07 June | 15:49

After enduring the hassle of changing my name during marriage #2, and then the depressing hassle of changing it back after divorce #2, I am never ever ever ever changing it again, I don't care if I marry Paul McCartney. People can call me whatever they want, I am just not filling out those forms and making those phone calls any more, period.

posted by JanetLand 07 June | 17:51

You don't even have to use a hyphen, and you can still be elected mayor of Los Angeles with a last name that's five syllables, hard for gringos to pronounce and hard for everybody to spell. (I am NOT making fun of the guy; I'm as close to a fan for him as I am for any admitted politician - I just have to call him "Mayor V" to avoid dislodging a denture)

posted by wendell 07 June | 19:34

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