Originally published on November 12, 2009
Mrs. Spaniel nominated Mrs. Rainbow’s name change post. Mrs. Spaniel says, “I know that everyone has a post about name changing, but the one that really impacted me was Mrs. Rainbow’s post, where she told us that both she and her fiance decided to take both of their names. I’m not joking; it sparked the conversation where Mr. Spaniel and I actually decided to each take my birth name as a second middle name.
~~~
Let me just start of by saying that I am so lucky to be marrying such an understanding, compassionate, and laid back man.
I say this because I initially had absolutely no desire to change my name, ever. Even as a little girl, I couldn’t imagine having anyone else’s last name but my own. I quite like my last name, it meshes well with my identity. It’s a strong””yet pretty and proper sounding””British name. It’s one of those names that goes well with everything, but isn’t super common, like Smith or Jones.
To be honest, I was a bit nervous about telling Mr. Rainbow that I was planning on keeping my last name. Most men (like my dad, for example) are so against the idea of their wife not having the same last name. When I broke the news to Mr. Rainbow, his response was something to the tune of: “Really? Okay, if that’s what you want sweetie, whatever makes you happy.” Gosh, I love that man. What potentially could have caused a huge fight between many other couples, was not even a ripple on our radar.
Fast-forward a few weeks later and the gears in my brain started spinning: “What if we decide to have kids? Whose name will they have? I don’t want to be the only one in the family with a different last name!”
… read more
