Change my name? Children will have different last name

I'm hyphenating my name because I want the same name as my kids and my new husband and step daughter. I didn't really see any other solution.

I'm in the same boat although I was my XH' last name for 20 years so all my degrees and professional accomplishments are with that name. I can't change it at work but I am excited about taking FH's name in the outside of work world.

My daughter who will be 14 in Feb does not want me to change my name. She doesn't want to be the only one in our new family with that last name. FH has 3 kids.

I'm very torn because I want to lose the x's name but I don't want to hurt my daughter and make her feel like an outsider.

Anne, that's how I feel too. My kids want me to have the same name as them, and my FH and step daughter both said it's special to them that I take their name... so the only solution I could see was hyphenating (even though I'd really like to loose my xh's last name).

I have 4 children and kept the XH name. They all asked me to keep it even after I get married so I am moving it to my middle name and will take FH last name. I know my daughters will change their names when they get married but I doubt my sons ever will.

My mom kept her first husband's name as her middle and added my dad's when they got married. That way, she could sign her full name to match my older siblings' name while they were in school. It's a little different though because she was a widow so there weren't any bad feelings about her first husband's name!

You seem pretty happy about changing your last name so I'd say go for it! Your children (girls, specifically) may not even keep their last name if they decide to marry some day. It's all up to you. Like someone stated earlier, you can always hyphenate your name as well.

I am letting go of my exes last name and taking FH last name. The kids will all still have my ex's name, they were confused they might need to change there's as well, but are okay now.

I'm letting go of ex's name and taking FH's last name. My daughter feels really sad, but I told her to talk to her dad about it. She told him she wants to change her last name, too, and it really upset her dad. Her dad and I talked and we agreed that when she's 18 she can do whatever she wants.

I'm also torn. I want to lose the ex last name, but don't want my kids to be different. FH says to do whatever I want. I just don't know yet.

@Kim

I like the idea of hyphenating with the x's name in the middle. I will mention this to my daughter to see if that would please her. I hope that would work. Thank you for sharing.

Can you hyphenate your kids names with your old name and new name?

Is their father around? Can you petition the court for a name change? (I'm pretty sure FH would have to adopt them though...)

Hyphenate or have two last names.

I don't think it's werid to change your name all together. My mom remarried when I was about 10 and I never thought twice about her having a different name. I have actually never heard of someone keeping an ex husbands name after re-marrying so this is actually new/different for me. How does your future husband feel about it??

My mother changed her last name when she got remarried when I was 9. It didn't really bother me

My mother and I have had different last names for all 25 years I've been alive. I've managed to survive. Change it if you want. They'll still be your kids.

Since your last name is your ex's name, I honestly think it would be inappropriate to keep it.

Decision made!!! I'm changing my name!!! Ordered my business cards and new address stamp today! What a relief!

I also decided to order my wedding invitations with my first and middle name instead of my x husband's last name. Maybe it's weird or tacky, but i don't want x husband's last name on my wedding invitation so I'm willing to take the risk lol!!!!

My son has had his fathers last name since birth. His father has never been in the picture (I made a grievous error there). But we've never shared last names so I'm choosing to take FH. We had a conversation about it and talked about how the name doesn't make the family, the love makes the family. He understands but sometimes I worry about it also. But hyphenating wouldn't make a difference for us. I think if your child genuinely wants you to keep it, that that should be your top consideration.