Alternate naming conventions?

Question

Have any of these occurred to you? I don't mean if you would actually do them, but just if you considered them.

Passing on the wife's name to the kids?

Passing on the husband's name to the sons and the wife's name to the daughters?

Husband and wife taking each other's names, either singularly or apart?

Husband taking his wife's name?

Or anything else? How do you feel about these?

Answer 1

I am in favor of patriarchal names... passing on the fathers first name as one of the childs middle names... as in stating "Nick, son of Ben"

In also in favor of the wife taking on a hyphenated maiden-married name.

But I must insist that, at least my sons, take my family name... and I would prefer that my wife and daughters chose to adopt my family name either as a hyphenation  or solely.

Im just traditional... and would be offended otherwise.  I think that feminists who so strongly, so proactively stand up against tradition are trying too hard to be independent and reject men... its really a declaration of failure to commit entirely.

Answer 2

My sons name has 6 letters.  First two letters are the first two letters of my dad's name (he died about 3 months before my son's birth). The second two letters are the first two letters of my name and the last two letters are the first two letters of my wife's name.  The resulting name is "Rajath" and it means silver in Indian languages and is a well accepted name.  

If I ever have a daughter, her name would be "Jaithra" (means victory).  This also contains the same set of letters and an exta letter "i"

Answer 3

Hmmm, didn't think it was a big deal at all...

I will be married in a Japanese ceremony soon. My partner and I both decided it would be a good idea if I take her family name. (She is the last of her family line with no male heirs)

The Shinto priests are having a hard time with it though. :)

I believe it is natural for the male to take the woman's name. It has been common practice in many cultures (Old Hebrew, Scottish, etc) that have been forced to change in a patriarchal/ JC world.

Answer 4

In some cultures kids are known by either the paternal OR maternal last name until a certain age, when daughters take the mother's name and sons the father's.

In some cultures children's last names have different suffixes depending on gender.

In some cultures people typically don't use last names at all.

It's just tradition, not anything engraved in stone by the founder of the human race. Do what you want, and what you think will be OK for the kid.

Personally, I think it's nice to 'memorialise' people you love through a naming, but if people prefer to start fresh with something unique to the child, why not?

It's just not important to anyone except the people involved, as long as the birth is registered and the child has a legal name.

As for adults taking on each other's names, that's just up to them. My late husband didn't want to use his father's last name, and neither did I, so we re-named both ourselves when we married. It was a symbolic thing to us, and brought us closer together in a way, but we'd have still been married, and happy, if we'd done something else.

Cheers :-)

Answer 5

Who cares?

Whatever the matrimony feels like. How about making up a new family name when you marry?

Answer 6

Peple can take what names they choose to.  It has no affect on anyone else.