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From: jimb@ism780
Newsgroups: soc.singles
Subject: re: Changing Names
Message-ID: <90000018@ism780>
Date: Tue, 16-Sep-86 01:33:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: ism780.90000018
Posted: Tue Sep 16 01:33:00 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 23-Sep-86 00:59:10 EDT
Lines: 40
Nf-ID: #N:ism780:90000018:000:1477
Nf-From: ism780!jimb    Sep 15 22:33:00 1986




Two sesterces on the "changing names" discussion.

Anne and I looked at different combinations.  Hyphenation made it sound
like a mouthful of marbles.  We both had strong professional identities
with our then-current names, which are the same as our now-current names,
because we decided not to keep our names as they were.

This decision apparently was a Cause for Concern with my soon-to-be mother
in-law.  The following conversation took place.

M-I-L:  How do you feel about Anne not changing her name?

Me:     I guess it took a little getting used to because I had never
	really thought about it before.  (Singularly unimaginative in
	some things.  Selectively-phased tunnel vision, really.)

M-I-L:  Well, of course.  It's very flattering for the woman to take
	her husband's name.

Me:     Yeah, well, I thought about it and decided that if custom were
	the other way around I wouldn't want to change the name I had
	been carrying for thirty-odd years.

M-I-L:  Well, of course not.  Your whole identity is wrapped up in it.


That last line sums up for me the best reasons for everyone keeping
their own last names unless the hyphenation is particularly melodious
to the people involved or one of them hates their last name.

True, in the quoted conversation, my jaw dropped and bounced off the
ground a few times as I looked for some sort of diplomatic reply.
(I'm not sure that I ever did.)

	     -- from the musings of Jim Brunet

		UCBVAX/HPLABS/HAO/ICO/ISM780