- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee Blog
Mrs. Bee here.
Speaking of changing my name, several readers sent us links to articles about a Los Angeles man who sued for the right to take his wife’s last name, as easily as she could take his. When Mike Buday and Diana Bijon decided to get married, they agreed that he would take her last name because she had no brothers, he was estranged from his own father, and had become very close to his father-in-law. But they soon found out that that process wouldn’t be so easy:
A woman can choose her husband’s name or her maiden name on a California marriage-license form after the couple pays a county application fee that ranges from $50 to $97. California and 43 other states provide no place on a marriage-license application for the groom to choose the bride’s surname.
To officially change his name to hers ¢¢â€š¬” and for future Social Security benefits, Buday says ¢¢â€š¬” a man must pay a $320 court fee, advertise his intention in a newspaper for four weeks and get a judge’s approval. (via usatoday)
Mr. Bee and I talked about this, and he said that he would change his last name to mine, if it really meant a lot to me. He doesn’t care if I change my name to his - it’s just something that I want to do. But Mr. Bee’s only problem with changing his name to mine, is that his first name is John (one of the most common first names) and my last name is Kim (20% of the entire Korean population have this last name). So he’d be John Kim… like millions of others. 
Would your SO change his last name to yours?
Mr Mouse and I are both changing our names, so we’ll be Katie & Kevin Mouse Smith. I have heard from other ladies on my local knot who did something similar that there was no additional complication, but we’re in Oregon. Maybe we’re just lucky?
My family has no problem with it. Mr’s family didn’t care if I changed mine or not, but were surprised Mr Mouse was changing his. But it was important to Mr that we all match, and I wasn’t changing mine if he wasn’t changing his.
i like my last name too 
but i think i will change to his. i don’t think he would change his last name only because there are only two sons and most of his cousins are girls. *shrugs* we’ll see though.
How funny…I know 3 John Kims….
We were thinking of doing a coin toss at the wedding. Heads we go with my last name, tails with his. We live in CA though, so it might be more of a hassle than anticipated.
I have never liked my last name and our two names together would be the equivalent of wapinski-levondowski… so I am changing mine. FI would have changed his, but he is the only person besides his father to carry the last name…
me: Would you take my last name?
him: Why would I?
me: If you wanted to take my name…
him: If it meant a lot to you then sure. It’s just a f***ing name.
me: awww
him: People would think I’m Japanese. (He’s caucasian.)
me: LOL
I am a traditionalist so I will be taking his name.
not that we’re there yet, but both our last names are Lee. also, my brother and his gf both have the last name Lee. WE CAN’T ESCAPE THE CURSE OF THE LEE!
I love my last name and the English spelling of his last name is SUPER common even though it’s actually very very rare and carefully traced through the generations. I don’t expect him to change his, and I don’t really want to change mine.
That’s why I HATE being Jessica Kim. My old name was so unique.
Too bad it didn’t go with Young.
he’s already said that he doesn’t care whose last name we take, but I hate for either of us to lose our identity in the name, since his is very German/Dutch (and not a bad last name) and mine is Dutch/French Huguenot and I like it. They don’t hyphenate well though. So I’ll probably take his name socially and keep my name professionally.
I have a friend who combined her last name with her husband’s. His last name is Johnson (super common, right?) and hers was Haynes and they are now both Jaynes!
My FI would never take my last name. There are only 6 known people in whole world (yes WORLD) that have his last name. He wouldn’t give that up. I feel very fortunate to be gaining his last name.
Wren - That is a great idea! I’m going to suggest it and see what my FI says. His last name is pretty unique, unless you are from NY’s Hudson valley (which luckily I am), it’s Quackenbush!
My FI and I have actually talked about this! I’m not really keen on changing my last name only because it seems like such a hassle! Plus my new name (as many have joked) sounds very silly BUT… FI is the only boy therefore wants to “carry on the family name”. He pointed out that I have a brother so I couldn’t really argue that one. 
fi would not change his last name to a blended last name or a completely different last name. i told him i wasn’t changing my last name, and part of the reason is that i am korean and it’s important to me. i told him that if he was korean, i would change my last name. he’s still not sure how he feels about that!
Mr D and I have also talked about this since I carry a Japanese last name. There are still lot of people out there who is not fond of Japanese people even though Mr D is part Korean. He is born and raised in USA but people don’t see that. If for some reason we would have to change our last names, he said he would do it.
my bf wants me to take on his last name, which i don’t mind at all. i like his last name. keeping my name was never an issue since i was never attached to it, even more so now that we finally have a boy to carry on the last name on my dad’s side. plus, it’s very common anyway. now if i had a korean last name, i’d probably be a little more hesitant.
besides, i spent my entire school life looking forward to getting married to change my last name. i got tired of sitting in front by the teacher. lol.
You girls are SO lucky to have such understanding significant others! I asked my bf that and right away he said no. End of discussion. =( It was kind of sad to me that he wouldn’t even consider it. Though I would choose to change mine to his anyway if we were to get married.
He probably wouldn’t care if I changed mine or not, but he knew for sure he didn’t wanna change his. He’s an only child, hence, he’s stubborn. He may actually be the only one in his immediate family (cousins included) to carry his last name though. But still…it would be nice to have him think about it and not say no right off the bat!
I think there are still a lot of men who aren’t open-minded about this. This lawsuit was mentioned at a morning show on the radio station in So. Cal. where I live and most of the DJs, who are men, said they couldn’t understand why any man would want to change his last name to his wife’s! It was so frustrating to hear!
i don’t think my s.o. would object. actually he offered to do that. but, i would like to take his last name. i just don’t want to give up mine either. heh. but i think i will append his name, maybe make my last name my middle name and have his last name as my last name.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Reader Buzz About: Let us know what you think by leaving a comment...
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 30 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
Latest Gallery Pics