Why do the aristocracy or wealthy have double barrel surnames?

Question

Huntington-Whiteley

Lane-Fox

etc etc?

Answer 1

To carry on a prestigious family name, rather than lose it when females get married. Occasionally, it is a condition of a will that beneficiaries keep the family name.

Answer 2

It is to show both the maternal and paternal lines.

In English speaking countries, the wife's maiden name is followed by her husband's surname.

In Hispanic countries, not just the aristocracy and wealthy use the double surname but they do it differently than they do in English speaking countries. It is the legal way to use a name in their countries.

The husband's name is his father's followed by his mother's maiden name.

The wife and children will be the husband's and father's surname followed by her maiden name

until

the daughter gets married

She will drop her mother's maiden name, push her father's surname to the right and then put her husband's in front.

If a person's surname is Garcia-Lopez, you would address them as Senor Garcia.

I think in the U.S. today, the tendency to use the double surname is done by women for career  purposes.  Also, there are those that think it gives them class.  It is very funny. I worked for a hospital and processed Medicaid claims and I found even Medicald patients were doing it.

Answer 3

You might like to check out Pimbley's Dictionary of Heraldry under "B": it's at http://www.luz-herald.net/free/pimbley/P...

It explains heraldry, of course, but a hyphenated name is sometimes called a bar-sinister, but there's plenty of vocabulary regarding crests of royalty.

Marriages were generally arranged among nobility in those days primarily to promote their version of "world unity." To satisfy and enforce the unification, both roots of their marriage or ancestry would be stressed.

We ordinary people, of course, didn't deal with such pretentious fru-fru, especially when most common people back then didn't use surnames, but the nomenclature on the site is very interesting, and might illuminate the subject for you further.

Answer 4

Winston Spencer-Churchill, who astutely chose to use only the last part of his two-barrelled surname in public life, is a prime example of an aristocrat with a hypenated surname.  An ancestor, George Spencer, the fifth Duke of Marlborough, changed his name to Spencer-Churchill to highlight his descent from John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722).

Because the first Duke of Marlborough had no surviving sons, a special act of Parliament allowed his title to pass to his oldest daughter in her own right.  A still younger daughter, Lady Anne Churchill, married Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland (1674-1722), and from this marriage from this point on descended all of the Dukes of Marlborough.

Traditionally, hypenated-surnames have joined the mother's maiden name with the father's surname just as British parents as well as "Anglo" parents in the American South have often given their sons and daughters their mother's maiden name as a middle name.  For example, my oldest paternal uncle's middle name was Dickerson, which was my paternal grandmother's maiden name.  My mother's middle name is likewise her mother's maiden name.

Of course, in theory, over time, the use of double-barrelled surnames joining the mum and dad's family names could begin to sound very ridiculous.  Imagine receiving this wedding invitation:  "Mr William Charles Smith and Mrs Lucy Jane Dickerson-Smith request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter, Ms Emily Anne Dickerson-Smith to Mr Peter Cleve Williams-Bennett." Of course, any child of Emily and Peter's will sound like he or she is a member of a prestigous law firm: "Dickerson, Smith, Williams, and Bennett--how can I help you?"

Nowadays, many successful career women wish to continue to use their maiden names.  Who can forget Hilary Rodham Clinton except for the fact that when she decided to run for President, she left out her once prized maiden name. Similarly, tennis pro Chrissy Everett became Chris Everett-Lloyd, and then upon divorcing Mr. Lloyd, took back her maiden name.  I also understand that some children of divorced parents now hypenate their last names.  If Sue and Bob Jones divorce, and Sue marries Bill Davis, then her children take the last name of Jones-Davis.  I don't know, however, why Olivia Newton-John has a hypenated surname.

Answer 5

I'm not aristocracy but I do have a double barreled surname, it's very posh sounding.