What do you think of hyphenated last names for a baby? Read description.

Question

My father suggested that I hyphenate my babies last name, to keep our last name "alive" lol. My SO's last name is White and mine is Goertzen (it's pronounced without the o). He suggested Goertzen-White.. obviously not White-Goertzen lmfao 😂. I don't know how I feel about it, I understand where he's coming from and kinda want to have the baby to have part of my last name but than again I like the last name White. What do you guys think of this? Would you do it or just keep the last name as White? I see no problem with doing it, but I want to hear your opinions.

Answer

I grew up with a hyphenated last name and it was miserable… such a mouthful to say and write on forms. I stopped using the second name by middle school and after college I legally changed my name to just the first part.
My mom also didn’t give me a middle name because of the super long hyphenated last name, which has always bummed me out. I was so excited to finally have 3 initials when I got married! (Before that my initials were “EH”… ehhhhhhhhhh)

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Hyphenated names are a mouthful and I would keep it sweet and simply White.

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I hated having a hyphenated last name growing up. In school I would give my whole name and they would take forever to find it. So it got to the point where I would just say “I’m the one with two last names.” And they would find it faster that way. In high school I was on the school roster with both last names but just ended up going by one. 
Just go with one last name. It’s just easier all around. If you truly want to keep the name alive make your maiden name the kids middle name.

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Having two last names separated by a spac with no hyphen is great, because I can use either or both, depending on the setting. It makes it easier to separate my professional and personal life. Also, I don't have to use a super long name all the time if I don't want to. If it were hyphenated, it wouldn't fit in a lot of forms and surveys! My husband and I are wanting to start a business together. He can use his name & I can use mine, without needing to have people figure out right off the bat that we're married. If you don't hyphenate, you still have the option of using only the name "White" for your baby socially, even if thd legal name is "Goertzen White." Also, just visually, I think it's more attractive without the hyphen.

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If you’re getting married and taking his last name then meh don’t worry about hyphenating the last name.

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My first and last name are hyphenated. I changed my name when I was 16 and decided to change my first name though

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If you two are married, is your name hyphenated or just White? It seems like it’s more of your dad’s idea than your own. If you’re okay with it, I would second some of the other suggestions such as using it as a middle name or two last names with no hyphen. Find what works best for you and your SO and I imagine your dad will be so excited for a grand baby that he won’t care in the end!

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What about Goertzen as a middle name? I feel like that would be easier in the long run

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My son have one first name and two last names. But no hyphen. Both me and SO have super rare last names, (less than 50people have it as a last name) so we wanted him to have both. If he don’t like that when he’s older then he can change it. 
I think a hyphen works if it’s two short names, but it can easily get way to long.

Answer

If you want to use your last name too, K suggest simply giving your child two last names, WITHOUT hyphemating. Just separated by a space. Since my husband and I are Hispanic, it's kind of a no brainer for us to give our children both last names. My husband was both parents last names at birth, but I was only given my dad's because I was born in the States. I have always wanted to keep my dad's last name, to honor him. When we first got married, we decided that our children would have his father's last name, followed by my father's last name, with a space, no hyphen. We felt so strongly about this that my husbamd actuslly dropped his mother's last name and added MY father's name to his. We wanted us and our children to all have the same name.

What do you think of hyphenated last names for a baby? Read description.

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