Wedding preparation requires important decisions – colour themes, venues, guest lists, songs, menus, flowers, honeymoon. You may also be trying to decide what to do about your surnames. Changing or keeping your last name is a personal decision that should be made before the event. Here, we look at the pros and cons of having a hyphenated surname.
Reasons for Hyphenating Last Names
Following a marriage, you have several surname options: take your spouse’s surname, keep your current surname, or hyphenate both surnames. A hyphenated last name is formed when you and your spouse combine your last names—known as a double surname.
For centuries, it has been common in Britain to inherit hyphenated surnames. Marriage united families and finances; therefore, couples celebrated that by joining together both family names.
How to Hyphenate Your Surname
No legislation prohibits you from hyphenating your name. Thus, you can do it regardless of your gender or spouse. Once married, Mary White and Lauren Holland will hyphenate their names. Mary becoming Mary White-Holland or Mary Holland-White would likewise change Lauren’s name. All that remains is choosing which surname sounds better before and after the hyphen.
Pros and Cons
If you’re undecided about hyphenating your last name, consider the pros and cons:
Pros
- Best of all worlds – Keep your name and add your partner’s.
- Professional identity – Hyphenation helps retain name awareness.
- Simpler ancestry – Genealogists like traceability.
- Having children together will preserve your surname for at least one more generation.
- Online forms – Certain legal and administrative database forms allow hyphenated names but not spaces between last names.
- Family Unity – It can represent the value of all members of the family as well as the unity of the family.
Cons
- Hyphens can be long, so consider how long your name will be with one.
- Hyphens sometimes confuse. Some people don’t know if your last name is the name before the hyphen, the complete name, or both.
- Hyphenated surnames can occasionally be challenging to spell, write, or recall—particularly in official contexts.
- Hyphenated surnames may be stigmatised in some cultures or societies.
- Hyphenated surnames may necessitate more paperwork in several legal situations.
- Hyphenating a surname can occasionally cause disputes or arguments within families.
The choice to hyphenate a surname is personal and should be determined by family dynamics, cultural preferences, and unique situations. It is important to thoroughly consider the advantages and disadvantages before deciding.
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