Skip to main content

Post content has been hidden

To unblock this content, please click here

Paige L.
Super September 2021

Changing my Last Name

Paige L., on December 27, 2019 at 10:17 AM Posted in Planning 0 4
Hello everyone!


So I know that questions like this are posted all the time, but I thought my name change dilemma was a little bit unique to others. My fiancé is South American, and in his country, a woman keeps her maiden name and adds her husband’s last name after her maiden name with a ‘de’ in between. My fiancé has actually asked me to change my name in a similar way, as he does not like the US tradition of completely giving up the woman’s maiden name.
My question is this: how do I go about doing this when we get married? For example, if my name were ‘Paige Mary Smith’ unmarried and I want my married name to be ‘Paige Mary Smith de Johnson,’ will I need to involve the courts? ‘Smith de Johnson’ would be a mouthful of a legal last name, so would I make ‘Smith’ a second middle name? How would you all go about this?
I hope the question makes sense to everyone!

4 Comments

Latest activity by Andrea, on December 27, 2019 at 3:11 PM
  • Caytlyn
    Legend November 2019
    Caytlyn ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    It depends on the state. I would contact your county clerk to get more info. Also, you mentioned that this is what your husband wants, but is it what you want?

    • Reply
  • Paige L.
    Super September 2021
    Paige L. ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    View Quoted Comment
    I will definitely reach out to the clerk! Thank you for the suggestion.


    As for what I want, I was unsure of what I wanted my married name to be, so I asked my fiancé. I loved his idea of using his country’s marriage naming traditions, so I am very happy with that choice. Probably should have made that more clear in the OP!
    • Reply
  • Meghan
    Super September 2019
    Meghan ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    It may vary by state but if it's like in NY you shouldn't have to involve the courts, your marriage certificate should be sufficient. As long as it's one of your last names or some combination of them you don't need to petition the court - only if it's an entirely different name than one of you already has.

    • Reply
  • A
    Super February 2020
    Andrea ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    You could hyphen, or not even use “de”. My mom is Hispanic and she kept her maiden last name and just added my dads after hers. So it’s Paige Mary Smith Johnson
    • Reply

You voted for . Add a comment 👇

×
WeddingWire celebrates love ...and so does everyone on our site! Explore how we embrace diversity

Groups

WeddingWire article topics