What's in a name?

"... listening to some young women talk about how they didn't want to take a future hisband's last name, because female Equality." -Bevel Lemelisk

I'm proud of my patrilinear last name. Goes back to the roots of this nation.

My wife's partilinear family name apparently was made up by her father's mother because long story, but my wife's family was a big, proud Irish-Catholic family and she was justly proud if the name.

So we hyphenated the family name, mine first usually and each go by our own or hyphenated, but mostly each our own.

My mother-in-law was known by her sister's name because ling story and my wife's given name was the same as her mother's common married name, making her a 2nd (not Jr. please).

When our first was born, we named her after her mother, burdening her with being a III. She's had no real problems with that; fewer than with her nickname.

Our boys got my last name.

Defying cultural norms? Yeah. Confusing to some? He!! yeah. A relative declared I had "disowned" my daughter!

Don't like our family naming conventions? Call 1-800-None of your business.