OK, I promise not to bride out on you (I did that once, sort of, ahem, already), but the contemporary name game fascinates me to no end. Clearly, women my generation who marry are at a different starting point. In 1975, less than 4 percent of college-educated brides did NOT take their husband’s last name, compared to 20 percent in 2000. Most of my girlfriends have kept their last names; a few hyphenate. I may hyphenate officially, but for sure I'll remain Deborah Siegel in print. But anyway, as it turns out, according to an article appearing in the Times' Style section yesterday, there are actually consultants now who will help modern couples figure out what to do about merging their names. Interestingly, the article notes that only children (c'est moi) and family business owners may be among women perhaps most concerned with losing their lineage by tossing their name. BTW, I love the article's title: "To Be Safe, Call the Bride by Her First Name."
Monday, December 3, 2007
Indie Bride Files
OK, I promise not to bride out on you (I did that once, sort of, ahem, already), but the contemporary name game fascinates me to no end. Clearly, women my generation who marry are at a different starting point. In 1975, less than 4 percent of college-educated brides did NOT take their husband’s last name, compared to 20 percent in 2000. Most of my girlfriends have kept their last names; a few hyphenate. I may hyphenate officially, but for sure I'll remain Deborah Siegel in print. But anyway, as it turns out, according to an article appearing in the Times' Style section yesterday, there are actually consultants now who will help modern couples figure out what to do about merging their names. Interestingly, the article notes that only children (c'est moi) and family business owners may be among women perhaps most concerned with losing their lineage by tossing their name. BTW, I love the article's title: "To Be Safe, Call the Bride by Her First Name."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I was married at 26, and vividly recall sitting outside the DMV office, as big fat tears plopped on my new license and my new name.
After a short marriage, divorce brought celebration at the official return to my former name - and included celebratory champagne drinks with my friends.
Names mean more than the ink the letters form on the papers. In my case, I learned through trial and error that of all the many 'options' (hyphenation, middle names, etc), the best one for me was to keep the name I had since birth - it is me, and I'm never letting go of it again.
Reading your comment Tricia I got the chills. So poignantly expressed. Here's to keeping the V.!
Post a Comment