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| 8 | A soon-to-be-married woman has difficulties with the idea of changing her last name. Or perhaps, her soon-to-be husband has difficulties, or maybe his mother has problems (often because she doesn't like any daughter-in-law taking the same name she changed her own to). This trope usually starts with the woman in question writing out her maiden name along with her married name to try it out, or try saying it in front of a mirror for practice. Usually, the lady is an established career woman (or wants to be). Less often, there is the issue of the aesthetics of the name: should Rhea Mills have to be saddled with ridicule for the rest of her life for having married Robert Peer? (As a general rule, since you never know who she might marry, it would be wise to avoid naming your daughter "Anita".) TruthInTelevision, obviously, and a potentially contentious issue. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | A traditional solution was for a married woman to take her maiden name as a middle name (e.g. Laura Ingalls Wilder). It's still done today, as was the case with Creator/RobinWright when she was married to Sean Penn (well... [[LampshadeHanging maybe that's not the most relevant case]]). Note that this is different from the more modern solution of a hyphenated name. Robin Wright Penn is not the same as Robin Wright-Penn, and this can cause quite a bit of [[BerserkButton annoyance]] as hyphenated names gain more prominence over time, while the "maiden name as middle name" falls out of favor. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Particularly applies if you're a media personality. This is partly due to working in an industry where your name is your brand, and partly due to the typical brevity of celebrity marriages. Many female performers split the difference by [[ProfessionalMaidenName using their maiden name as their stage name]] while taking their husband's surname for legal purposes. For instance, Creator/SarahMichelleGellar is officially Sarah Michelle [[Creator/FreddiePrinzeJr Prinze]]. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Naturally, this trope only applies in countries/cultures where the wife traditionally takes her husband's last name upon marriage. Whether a married woman reverts to her maiden name after marriage usually depends on how it ends. If she's widowed, she'll usually keep the married name unless and until she remarries. If she's divorced, she may go back to her maiden name, but she might not if the married name is tied to her career or she still thinks kindly on the marriage while acknowledging it needed to end. One example that comes to mind is Creator/PhyliciaRashad, who divorced Ahmad in 2001 but has kept the name, both personally and professionally. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | With same-sex marriage becoming legal in many parts of the world these days, the problem with applying this practice to a same-sex couple is obvious. Since there is no traditional protocol to follow, it's up to each couple to choose a solution that works for them. The most common solutions are for the spouses to simply keep their original names or to hyphenate. It's not unheard of for one partner to take the other's name, but it may lead to the unwelcome perception that the one who changed their name is the "wife" in the relationship. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Between same-sex marriage and the increasing frequency of [[TookTheWifesName men taking their wives' names instead of vice versa]], there has been the growing question of how a married man should refer to his unmarried name if applicable. The term "bachelor name" has been coined as the SpearCounterpart to a woman's maiden name, but is not in common use. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | See also MeaningfulRename. Compare NomDeMom, where the woman ''did'' change her name, and her offspring changed it ''back''. Also see the MrsHypothetical, who's gone through this debate well in advance, and TookTheWifesName, where the husband changes his name to the wife's instead. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | ---- |
| 23 | !!Examples: |
| 24 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 27 | * ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': [[spoiler:Rukia Kuchiki]] was tempted to fully change her name to [[spoiler:Rukia Abarai]] after marrying [[spoiler:her childhood friend Renji]], but ultimately decided to keep her maiden name in the Gotei Soldier register. [[spoiler:Rukia and Renji's daughter Ichika was named "Ichika Abarai" when she was born, probably because were she named after the Kuchikis, this could potentially mean the accidental creation of a branch of the clan and would bring up a HUGE mess.]] |
| 28 | [[/folder]] |
| 29 | |
| 30 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 31 | * [[https://archiecomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Archie80thAnniversary_ArchiesWeddingAlbum-113-666x1024.jpg One issue]] of ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'' has Veronica wanting to keep her maiden name (Lodge) when she and Archie get married, since she's the only child of a rich family. She doesn't want to take Archie's last name and scoffs at a hyphenated one (comparing it to a Scottish hunting lodge). She finally suggests Archie [[TookTheWifesName take her name instead]], causing her father to balk. |
| 32 | * Spoofed in one ''ComicBook/NewAvengers'' issue where Luke Cage (a.k.a. "Power Man") tries to convince his wife to go by "Power Woman." |
| 33 | [[/folder]] |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 36 | * Gender inverted in ''ComicStrip/JumpStart''. Ruiz and Crunchy decide to get married after a whirlwind romance, and he is shocked when she wants him to take her last name. They end up deciding to both keep their last names. |
| 37 | * In the comic strip ''ComicStrip/StoneSoup'', when the soon-to-be-hubby asked the soon-to-be-wife why she had any reservations about changing her name, she responded, "Why don't ''you'' change ''your'' name?" He began listing all the legal, financial and professional hassles that would entail for someone as established in life as he was (it was the second marriage for both), then stopped and said, "Oh, yeah." |
| 38 | [[/folder]] |
| 39 | |
| 40 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 41 | * In ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5278406/chapters/12534401 Altering Course]]'', [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Elim Garak]] is ''willing'' to become Elim Bashir (as a result of [[spoiler:Julian's status as Federation Ambassador to Cardassia giving his family name precedence due to higher status]]), but not terribly enthusiastic about it, and after actually discussing it, they decide to just keep their original surnames. |
| 42 | * ''Fanfic/BaitAndSwitchSTO'': Bajorans in ''Franchise/StarTrek'' generally change their surnames when they marry, but Kanril Eleya still keeps her maiden name after marrying Reshek Gaarra. Their daughter's name is revealed to be Reshek Taryn, and a DistantFinale historical piece set after Eleya's retirement and death from natural causes gives her full name as "Kanril Reshek Eleya". |
| 43 | * ''Fanfic/DaphneGreengrassAndTheBoyWhoLived'' sees the titular character become part of a triad relationship with Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. The epilogue reveals that [[spoiler:once they got married, all three kept their original surnames, Daphne noting that they'll deal with the "hassle" of what name to give their children when the time comes for them to have kids]]. |
| 44 | * The ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/AAPessimal sees Assassin Johanna Smith-Rhodes pointing out that just because she's getting married doesn't change anything, she is still going to be Doctor Smith-Rhodes to everyone around her. She scorns the compromise of Mrs. Johanna Smith-Rhodes-Stibbons as too unwieldy for everyday use, and anyway she doesn't see her husband becoming Professor Ponder Smith-Rhodes-Stibbons any time soon. Anyone calling her Mrs. Stibbons gets glared at. With the exception of [[MamaBear Johanna's mother]], who pointedly addresses all correspondence to Mrs. Stibbons. Johanna and Ponder's three daughters, in the fullness of time, all become Miss Smith-Rhodes-Stibbonses[[note]]oldest daughter Rebecka gets to drop the Stibbons part, as a witch always takes her mother's name. It's traditional.[[/note]] |
| 45 | * In contrast to ''Series/{{Friends}}'' canon, "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1242073/1/TO-On-the-Streets TO On the Streets]]" has Monica explicitly change her name to Monica Bing after she married Chandler, but this can be justified as she spent years thinking her whole family rejected her to the extent that she never even told Chandler her last name until their marriage (in reality only Judy wanted to get rid of Monica, with Jack and Ross horrified to learn the truth). |
| 46 | * Hermione in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' fic gets this a lot in general, as you'd expect. Even Creator/EmmaWatson thinks she'd keep her name. If you accept Pottermore as canon, she does. |
| 47 | ** In ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', Harry and Hermione have one of these debates... then realize they're having it. It's never really explored, but there must have been an interesting one at some point for Harry to end up with the surname Potter-Evans-Verres. |
| 48 | * ''Fanfic/TheIkaris'': After Shinji and Asuka got [[AccidentalMarriage accidentally married]], Asuka tells him there is no way that she is taking Shinji's name... but she already changed her name legally when they got married. So, people calls her Asuka Ikari, and in NERV they had changed her name everywhere to Asuka Langley Ikari. The lawyer handling their case jokes about it by mixing his and her surname. |
| 49 | * ''Fanfic/{{Infinity}}'' has a different example. Since the story starts off only a week or two after Fate was adopted, she hasn't fully decided what her last name will be. The story just goes with "[[SesquipedalianSmith Fate Who-Had-A-Last-Name-Even-If-She-Wasn't-Sure-What-It-Was]]". |
| 50 | * In the ''Red Jewel Diaries'' chapter "For Better or Worse" of ''Fanfic/MGLNCrisis'', Fate wonders where "Scrya" and "Takamachi" would fit into her already long name when she marries [[OneTrueThreesome Nanoha and Yuuno]]. |
| 51 | -->'''Fate:''' If I took both your names, would that make me Fate Testarossa Harlaown Scrya Takamachi? Or perhaps Fate Testarossa Harlaown Takamachi Scrya? Fate Scrya Takamachi? Fate Takamachi Scrya? Hmm, I need to think about this... |
| 52 | ** [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments She actually spends the entire time from the marriage proposal till the wedding in a daze trying to figure out what order to put the names in]]. The sequel reveals that she eventually settles on Fate Scrya Takamachi. |
| 53 | ** For [[OneTrueThreesome the same reason]], this trope also comes up for Fate in ''Fanfic/RelationshipsSeries''. |
| 54 | * In ''Fanfic/TheMorrigan'', three different couples resolve this three different ways; Nika and Sabina add their partner's last name at the end of their own (Nanaura-Fardin and Fardin-Nanaura respectively); Miorine and Suletta swap last names (becoming Miorine Mercury and Suletta Rembran); and Elan and Norea, despite not being married, chose the same fake last name after being declared legally dead (Elan and Norea Nemo). |
| 55 | * ''Fanfic/TheSimpsonsTeamLASH'': [[FlashForwardFic In the interim period]] between [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons the source material]] and the events of this fic, [[IgnoredEnamoredUnderling Waylon Smithers]] has achieved his lifelong dream of marrying C. Montgomery Burns; as such, in this fic, he's referred to as "Waylon Burns" rather than "Waylon Smithers". (The same applies to ''FanFic/IHopeYourePreparedForAnUnforgettableWedding'', written by the same author and in the same continuity.) While one partner taking the other's name is rare for same-sex couples and Mr. Burns (and most characters InUniverse) are on a LastNameBasis with Smithers, this decision has precedent in canon: the [[AllThereInTheManual supplemental book]] ''C. Montgomery Burns' Handbook of World Domination'' contains [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/f2fdf9ee4ae72be92d467015c5ee32f4/tumblr_inline_p20k5cV1CH1ub9bdz_1280.png an image]] showing Smithers writing [[MrsHypothetical "Waylon S. Burns"]] on a piece of paper. |
| 56 | * This is constantly a question for writers of ''Series/TheXFiles'' fanfiction that feature Mulder and Scully as a married couple. While a large question is whether or not Scully would change her name, the larger question is: since they're on a LastNameBasis and they got married, would he still call her Scully? |
| 57 | [[/folder]] |
| 58 | |
| 59 | [[folder:Films — Live-Action]] |
| 60 | * In the sequel to ''Film/FatherOfTheBride1991'', Annie Banks and her husband discuss which surname their upcoming child should use at the same time that they're discussing first names. They even discuss the possibility of making up a third surname just for the child; father George dreads the possibility of having a granddaughter named "Chloe Zankman". |
| 61 | * ''Film/IndependenceDay'': David Levinson mentions that his now ex-wife Constance Spano didn't take his last name during their marriage. While searching the phonebook for her current cellphone number he finds it under Constance Levinson, a hint that she still has feelings for him. |
| 62 | * ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' shows George getting a phone call (on his wedding day) from "Mrs. Bailey," and he mistakenly thinks that the caller is his mother. "I don't want to talk to Mrs. Bailey! I want to talk to my wife!" Apparently it takes him some time to get used to the idea, too. |
| 63 | * In ''Film/ItsPat'', Pat and Chris are asked at their engagement party if one of them will change their last name (in the hopes of finding out [[AmbiguousGender which one's male and which one's female]], which they both considered not doing. |
| 64 | * In ''Film/TheWeddingSinger'', Julia Sullivan bursts into tears when she realizes that after she marries Glenn she'll be "Mrs. Julia Guglia". |
| 65 | * Gender inverted in the film ''Whipped''. The main character, a [[HenPeckedHusband hen-pecked boyfriend]], briefly considers [[TookTheWifesName changing his last name to his fiancée's]]. [[spoiler: They split up before the marriage.]] |
| 66 | [[/folder]] |
| 67 | |
| 68 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 69 | * ''Literature/ChocoholicMysteries'': Regina "Gina" Woodyard, a serial monogamist (her most recent husband as of ''Jewel Case'', a man named Art Atkins, was probably number five) apparently used to change her name to match her husband's, until she got to the point where she stopped because she wasn't staying married to them long enough. |
| 70 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': |
| 71 | ** In ''Literature/GoingPostal'', Moist's initial impression of Saccharissa Cripslock (who was [[Literature/TheTruth last seen]] in a sort-of-relationship with William de Worde) is "Wedding ring, but still 'Miss'. Probably has Views. Do not attempt to kiss hand." |
| 72 | * In ''Literature/EmpireFromTheAshes'', Dahak wants Earth-born Battle Fleet personnel to follow the naming rules of the Imperium when they marry, creating names like "Tamman-Amcolgiv" and "Amandacollettegivens-Tam". None of the humans find this appealing and Colin puts his foot down about it. |
| 73 | * ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Pottermore reveals that [[NotSoPhonyPsychic Professor Trelawney]]'s marriage ended "when she refused to adopt the surname '[[UnfortunateNames Higglebottom]].'" Aside from the silliness, she's also very proud of her descent from a famous Seer with the "Trelawney" name. |
| 74 | * ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'': Apparently "bride changes name" is common in Valdemar. In the ''Literature/CollegiumChronicles'', Lena points out that now that she's married to Bear, when she gets Scarlets she'll be "Bard Tyrall" instead of "Bard Marchand" (her maiden name). [[note]]Her father, Bard Tobias Marchand, was dancing on the edge of treason in the previous book. The change of surname not only avoids "which Bard Marchand are we talking about?", but will hopefully keep Lena from being treated as a traitor's child.[[/note]] |
| 75 | * Lieutenant Eve Dallas in the ''Literature/InDeath'' series keeps her maiden name after marriage to the [[Fiction500 multi-billionaire]] Roarke, a decision which is never really discussed but seems to be illustrative of the fact that she married Roarke in spite of, rather than because of, his wealth and has no intention of assimilating any of his high-class lifestyle. It doesn't keep the clueless from calling her "Lt. Roarke" (or worse, "Mrs. Roarke") and being quickly shut down. Roarke himself has OnlyOneName, but does not adopt "Dallas" as a surname after marrying Eve. |
| 76 | * DiscussedTrope in ''Jorōgumo no Kotowari'', where StrawFeminist Mrs. Sugiura expresses a desire to divorce her husband and return to her maiden name (and acted militantly antagonistic of males in general). Reijiro Enokizu laughingly points out the obvious--her maiden name came from her father, so if she really were that dedicated to having a name that only belongs to herself she should just come up with a completely new one. |
| 77 | * In ''Literature/TheSharingKnife'', [[{{Muggles}} farmers]] have the wife take the husband's name and [[MageSpecies Lakewalkers]] have the husband take the wife's name. This causes a minor issue for interracial couple Dag Redwing and Fawn Bluefield. While they briefly consider splicing their surnames (Redfield, Bluewing) or merging them (Purple-something), Dag eventually [[TookTheWifesName takes Fawn's surname]]. |
| 78 | * ''Literature/{{Under Suspicion|Series}}'': |
| 79 | ** ''Literature/AllDressedInWhite'': Although Sandra bitterly refers to Meghan as "Mrs Jeffrey Hunter", Laurie notes that Meghan White kept her surname rather than take Jeff's name when they married. Meghan admits to herself she decided not to change her name because she didn't want to draw more unwanted attention to their marriage, especially given Jeff became known as 'the man who may have bumped off his bride-to-be on their wedding trip' and Meghan herself was set to be the maid of honour (Sandra is the mother of the missing bride). |
| 80 | ** Defied by Anna Wakeling in ''Literature/EveryBreathYouTake''; her husband's surname is Browning, but something Laurie takes note of is that Anna introduces herself as Anna ''Wakeling''. Anna fought hard to be involved in running her father's company and legacy (which is explicitly named [[FamilyBusiness Wakeling Development]] to reflect this), so she didn't want to change her surname because of how important the Wakeling name is to her. It's implied another factor in her keeping her name is that Anna chafed under her father's outdated views on gender roles and is actively trying to be a more progressive parent to her own kids. |
| 81 | * Franchise/{{Riordanverse}}: Sally Jackson begins ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' keeping her maiden name while married to Gabe Ugliano. Then again, the only reason she married him is because he smells so bad it masks her son Percy's demigod scent. After killing Gabe at the end of ''The Lightning Thief'', she remarries with Paul Blofis, this time taking his surname and becoming Sally Jackson-Blofis. |
| 82 | [[/folder]] |
| 83 | |
| 84 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 85 | * ''Series/AndiMack'' has an episode where Bowie at first assumes the family will be taking his last name, Quinn, when he and Bex get married, but Bex and Andi are unsure about changing their name. They discuss options such as keeping separate names or combining names, and ultimately Bowie decides to change his name to Mack instead. |
| 86 | * Played with in ''Series/AquiNoHayQuienViva'': While it's not customary in Spain for wives to change their surname upon marrying, Juan Cuesta's wife Paloma Hurtado would every once in a while introduce herself using his surname for no clear reason. |
| 87 | * Andre Johnson on ''Series/BlackIsh'' begins arguing with his wife Rainbow after he discovers that she did not take his last name after marriage. He never noticed in twenty years of matrimony because her maiden name is also Johnson, so the argument only matters in theory, but Dre is still furious that she goes by "Rainbow Johnson" and not "Rainbow ''Johnson''." |
| 88 | * ''Series/BlueBloods'': Erin Reagan is divorced from Jack Boyle. When he meets up with her in one episode, he observes that she still has her married name "Reagan-Boyle" on her office door--to which she cracks that she keeps it there for the same reason people who have lost weight keep a "before" picture. By the end of the episode, she's had the "Boyle" scraped off. |
| 89 | * In the final season of ''Series/Charmed1998'', Paige decides to keep her maiden name of "Matthews" instead of taking her new husband's surname "Mitchell". She also rejects the idea of hyphenating as she thinks "Matthews-Mitchell" sounds "like a law firm". |
| 90 | * Given a nod in ''Series/TheCloser'', when one of the first things Brenda says when Fritz proposes to her is that she's keeping her maiden name, which he immediately agrees to. |
| 91 | * On ''Series/CougarTown'', Grayson asks Jules why she hasn't taken his name, especially since she is still using her ex-husband's name. |
| 92 | * ''Series/TheCrown2016'': After [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethII Elizabeth]] becomes Queen she and Prince Philip assume their children will have his surname of "Mountbatten". Philip's adopted uncle leads a toast at a party that the "House of Mountbatten" will now take the throne. Word of this gets back to the Queen Mother and Parliament who insist that the children will ''not'' take the name and that the house of "Windsor" will continue to hold the throne. Philip is outraged and complains about being the "only man" in Britain who can't give his children his name. In RealLife a compromise was made after the Queen Mother's death to let their male-line descendants use "Windsor-Mountbatten". |
| 93 | * ''Series/ADifferentWorld'': Whitley and Dwayne argue about the maiden name change because Whitley wanted her name to be Whitley Gilbert-Wayne as opposed to just Whitley Wayne. |
| 94 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 95 | ** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime "The End of Time"]]: Although not seen on screen, when Martha and [[spoiler:Mickey]] tie the knot, the former becomes Martha [[spoiler:Smith-Jones]]. And when Donna gets engaged to Shaun Temple, the Doctor gets worried because "Donna Noble-Temple" would sound stupid. Wilfred assures him she's going for "Temple-Noble" instead. |
| 96 | ** When Rory ''Williams'' and Amy Pond [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang get married]]: |
| 97 | --->'''The Doctor:''' Amelia, from now on I shall be leaving the kissing duties to the brand new Mr. Pond.\ |
| 98 | '''Rory:''' No, I'm not Mr. Pond. that's not how it works.\ |
| 99 | '''The Doctor:''' Yes. It is. \ |
| 100 | '''Rory:''' [[HenpeckedHusband ...yeah it is.]] |
| 101 | *** And then, after the birth of their daughter: |
| 102 | ---->'''The Doctor:''' Hello. Hello... ehh... baby. \ |
| 103 | '''Amy:''' Melody. \ |
| 104 | '''The Doctor:''' Melody! Hello Melody Pond. \ |
| 105 | '''Rory:''' Melody Williams... \ |
| 106 | '''Amy:''' ...is a geography teacher. Melody Pond is a superhero! |
| 107 | *** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E2DinosaursOnASpaceship According to the Doctor]], this even goes up a generation for Rory: |
| 108 | ---->'''The Doctor:''' Brian Pond, you are delicious.\ |
| 109 | '''Brian Williams:''' I'm not a Pond.\ |
| 110 | '''The Doctor:''' Of course you are. |
| 111 | *** While it is never revealed how (if at all) their legal names change, they call each other "Mrs. Williams" and "Mr. Pond" as terms of endearment, shown respectively in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar "A Good Man Goes to War"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWho2011CSTheDoctorTheWidowAndTheWardrobe "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe"]]. |
| 112 | *** Amy goes by "Amy Williams" [[spoiler:when signing divorce papers (don't worry, they get better)]] and ends up using "Amelia Williams" [[spoiler:on her gravestone]]. She also used Amelia Williams [[spoiler:as a pen name when she wrote ''Summer Falls'']]. |
| 113 | * In ''Series/DowntonAbbey'', there's a lot of joking and a bit of dread both upstairs and downstairs at the prospect of Mrs. Hughes becoming "Mrs. Carson," to the point that Robert proposes a toast when he learns that she [[ProfessionalMaidenName plans to keep using her maiden name professionally]]. |
| 114 | * Michaela Quinn and Sully from ''Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman'' faced this dilemma when they decided to get married. In the end, they agreed that she didn't have to change her last name. |
| 115 | * ''Series/{{Friends}}'': |
| 116 | ** Monica doesn't change her last name when she gets married, feeling that Bing was a weird name. At first Chandler agrees and suggests that they "name the kids Geller and let Bing die with me", but in the end they stick with Bing. At one point, Phoebe refers to her as "Monica Geller Hyphen Bing". |
| 117 | ** After Phoebe gets married, she has a similar dilemma. After marrying Mike (Creator/PaulRudd), Phoebe does change her name - but instead of changing her ''last name'' to her husband's, she instead has her ''full name'' legally changed to [[UnfortunateName Princess Consuela Bananahammock]] (not realizing that "Bananahammock" is actually a pseudonym for the skintight appearance a Speedo gives to a man's, er... private area, until Mike tells her later on in the episode); in retaliation, Mike chooses to change his name to, of all things... [[UnfortunateName Crap Bag]] ("just think of a bag of crap"). Luckily, both change their names back by the end of the episode. |
| 118 | * Inverted on ''Series/TheGoodPlace'': [[HistoricalCharactersFictionalRelative Larry Hemsworth]] is perfectly fine with taking Tahani's surname (Al-Jamil) if that gets people to stop mentioning his [[Creator/LukeHemsworth more]] [[Creator/ChrisHemsworth famous]] [[Creator/LiamHemsworth brothers]] around him. |
| 119 | * On ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', Lily keeps her last name after marrying Marshall, though they do consider both adopting a brand new last name (with candidates including [[AwesomeMcCoolname "Skywalker", "Hasselhoff", and "Awesome"]]). |
| 120 | -->"Have you met the Awesomes, Marshall and Lily, their son Totally, and their daughter Frickin'?" |
| 121 | * ''Series/LastManStanding'': The characters have a conversation about maiden name changes, but also bring up potential problems with hyphenating last names. Their example was a friend who went by "Johnson-Holder." As they laugh about it [[LateToThePunchline teenager Eve doesn't get it]]. |
| 122 | * [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in a funny moment on ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit,'' when Olivia jokingly toasts [[spoiler: Amanda]] with her married name, then verbally backtracks to ask if she's even doing that. She admits she's considering it, and Olivia makes a pained face and gives a full-body shudder at the thought. Whether she objects to this particular last name or changing her name in general is unclear, but the look on her face is hilarious. |
| 123 | * On ''Series/LoisAndClark'', Perry gives Lois a new nameplate for her desk that says "Lois Kent". She is later seen sliding her previous plate and new one together to see how she likes "Lois Lane Kent". In the end she's still not sure. |
| 124 | ** Earlier, there was also a TearJerker scene just before Lois was to be married to Lex Luthor, where she stands in front of a mirror in her wedding dress, trying out names: "Mrs Lex Luthor. Lois Lane Luthor. Lois Luthor Lane... Lois Lane... Kent..." |
| 125 | * Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse: |
| 126 | ** ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': Since the very first episode, Fitz and Simmons have been TheDividual referred to as the singular entity "Fitzsimmons", long before they actually become a romantic couple. After they get married, Simmons suggests hyphenating their last names. Fitz jokes that he's against the idea because "Simmons-Fitz" doesn't roll off the tongue very well. |
| 127 | * In ''Series/TheMiddle'', when Sue is contemplating marrying Darren, one consequence that Axl brings up is that her full name would be Sue Sue [=McGrew=]. Ironically, her full name in the end ends up being [[spoiler: Sue Sue Donahue]]. |
| 128 | * ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'': Discussed in "The Potion Notion" when Kimberly (who is under a [[LovePotion love spell]]) can't decide whether to change her surname or hyphenate it to Hart-Skullovitch. |
| 129 | * ''Series/{{Mom}}'': When Bonnie and Adam get married, she originally plans to change her name from Plunkett to Janikowski. However, she keeps putting her plans off and eventually, she realizes she doesn't want to change her name because she's spent her whole life hating the person she is and now that she loves Bonnie Plunkett, she doesn't want to let her go. Adam is disappointed, but understands and Bonnie keeps her maiden name. |
| 130 | * On ''Series/MurphyBrown'', Corky Sherwood marries Will Forrest. She chooses to keep her maiden name as a middle name, until she realizes that she will then be Corky Sherwood Forrest.[[note]]Ironically, Faith Ford's married last name at the time was "Nottingham"[[/note]] |
| 131 | * A variant from ''Series/MyFamily'', with the parents going into a therapy session: |
| 132 | -->'''Susan:''' I'd like to be known as Susan Ryman.\ |
| 133 | '''Ben:''' Your maiden name was Riggs!\ |
| 134 | '''Susan:''' ''Maiden'' name? (To shrink) Harper is my husband's name, Riggs was my father's name, but Ryman was my grandmother's name. She chose it herself, no men involved.\ |
| 135 | '''Ben:''' She was [[RaisedByWolves reared by wolves]]. |
| 136 | * On ''Series/MyHero2000'' when George and Janet finally married: |
| 137 | -->'''George:''' Arnie says you can have my name now. [[LiteralMinded How'd you like to be "George"?]] |
| 138 | * On ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', Pam almost marries Roy Anderson and indicates that she would have begrudgingly taken his name if they had gone through with it. |
| 139 | -->'''Pam:''' That's as close as I ever want to get to being Pamela Anderson. |
| 140 | ** On the flipside, she's more than excited to change it when marrying Jim. [[{{Squee}} Squeeing Ensues]] when Kevin hands her a check made out to "Mrs. Pam Halpert". |
| 141 | * On ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'', Leslie's jealousy spirals when she finds Ben flirting with Shauna Malwae-Tweep in End of The World. |
| 142 | -->'''Leslie:''' I know how Shauna operates. She smiles, and then they fall in love and then they get married, and then she changes her name to Shauna Malwae-Wyatt. Or he's going to be really progressive and changes his name to Ben Wyatt-Malwae-Tweep. God, I am so annoyed that he would hypothetically do that. |
| 143 | ** Also, in "Leslie and Ben," Ben insists that Leslie take his last name so that "Leslie Knope disappears and becomes Leslie Wyatt. Or Councilwoman Mrs. Ben Wyatt." Leslie's face freezes in horror before she realizes Ben is just messing with her. |
| 144 | * In ''Series/SavedByTheBell'', the core six do a pretend-marriage project in which the following pairs occur: Zack-Kelly, Jessie-Slater and Screech-Lisa. Jessie insists on hyphenating her new last name for feminist reasons and Kelly takes the old-fashioned approach and Zach's name. Screech? [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Takes Lisa's last name]]. |
| 145 | * Turk and Carla in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' faced this problem. Turk's classic response to Carla wanting to keep her name: "Okay baby, I guess we'll be one of those New Age couples that don't love each other!" They eventually compromise: Carla keeps her name, and [[JustTheWayYouAre Turk keeps]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext his mole]]. |
| 146 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': |
| 147 | ** In ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'', B'Elanna and Tom debate about whether she'll be B'Elanna Paris or if he'll be Tom Torres. Neither one undergoes a name change. |
| 148 | * In ''Series/That70sShow'', when Eric and Donna get engaged, he says that "some day, you're going to be Mrs. Forman". Donna doesn't like it, and {{squick}}s Eric out, reminding him that Mrs. Forman is his mother. "Mrs. Forman is feeling dirty..." |
| 149 | [[/folder]] |
| 150 | |
| 151 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 152 | * Variation in ''Theatre/{{Bandstand}}''. Donny thinks that Julia Trojan should use her maiden name in the show, as he says that Trojan is a joke and Julia Adams sounds like a star. Julia refuses because it's the only tie she has to her late husband. |
| 153 | [[/folder]] |
| 154 | |
| 155 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 156 | * A variant of this becomes a matter of [[SeriousBusiness international politics in]] ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings''. While the persons marrying keep their [[TheClan dynasty]] (and thus their last name), what dynasty the children will belong to is critical. Normally children will belong to their father's dynasty, but there are special matrilineal marriages where the children are of the mother's dynasty. [=NPC=]s follow a fairly logical train of thought in this aspect--a baron with five sons won't mind so much giving one of them in a matrilineal marriage assuming their religion/culture allows for that, but a duke with only one or two sons will be carefully weighing the prestige they'll get from the marriage and whether or not they have any heirs of their own dynasty. |
| 157 | * ''VideoGame/TheSims'': |
| 158 | ** " In ''VideoGame/TheSims2'', a couple adopt the name of whichever Sim initated the wedding ceremony. There are mods, however, which can allow you to choose the name or force a certain expectation. |
| 159 | ** In ''VideoGame/TheSims3'', the two adopt the surname of the house. Sims can also go to City Hall and pay for a name change. Like the second game, there are mods allowing you to choose a name on marriage or enforce certain expectations for name change. |
| 160 | ** In ''VideoGame/TheSims4'', both sims keep their surnames and it's up to the player to decide if and how the names change. |
| 161 | ** ''VideoGame/TheSimsMedieval'' has a unique case; if a hero marries an NPC, the NPC takes the surname of the hero, regardless of gender. If two heroes get married, whichever hero moves houses changes their surname, with the player deciding which house the couple lives in. The sole exception is if another hero marries the monarch, in which case they always move into the castle and take the royal surname. It's a bit of a moot point, of course, since we don't even see the surnames outside of Create-A-Sim. |
| 162 | * ''Runefall 2'': |
| 163 | -->'''Princess Roslyn:''' Did anyone happen to catch Vaughn's last name? I'm wondering if I should take his, or perhaps hyphenate. |
| 164 | [[/folder]] |
| 165 | |
| 166 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 167 | * Ki in ''Webcomic/GeneralProtectionFault'' ponders the issue of her name change as her wedding to Nick nears, but decides to take Wellington as her surname after getting married, since it's easier to spell. |
| 168 | * ''Webcomic/{{PvP}}'' had some back and forth over Jade changing her name. Lampshading on the [[http://www.pvponline.com/2007/08/30/aug-30-2007/ issue’s]] [[http://www.pvponline.com/2007/08/31/aug-31-2007/ resolution]], [[http://www.pvponline.com/2007/09/02/sep-2-2007/ they deliberately decided to ignore it until the last minute.]] [[http://www.pvponline.com/2008/05/01/always/ She eventually]] becomes Jade Sienna. |
| 169 | * In ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}},'' Leslie (Bean) wants to take Robin ([=DeSanto=])'s last name, "like a trophy or a prize I mount on my wall." Robin, on the other hand, suggests a variety of [[PortmanteauCoupleName combinations]] ("Robin an' Leslie [=DeSantobean=]!") or anagrams ("like ''Beans and Toe,'' or ''Satan Be Done''"), to no avail. |
| 170 | [[/folder]] |
| 171 | |
| 172 | [[folder:Web Video]] |
| 173 | * [[WebVideo/{{Gayle}} Gayle Waters-Waters]] married a man with the same surname as her but insisted on hyphenating anyway. |
| 174 | * ''WebVideo/NostalgiaCritic'': PlayedForLaughs in the ''[[Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked]]'' review. Devil Boner and Hyper Fangirl are getting married, but Hyper has reservations about changing her name to "Hyper Boner". Both decide that they should just keep their original surnames. |
| 175 | [[/folder]] |
| 176 | |
| 177 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 178 | * On ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', Stan and Francine are about to be [[ItMakesSenseInContext stoned to death in Saudi Arabia]], and Stan consoles himself with the fact that their son Steve can carry on the family name. Then he finds out that Steve is being put to death for a separate crime, and comments that their daughter Hayley, as a "filthy liberal," will probably hyphenate. (Cue Hayley's "Yeah, I'm here too.") |
| 179 | * In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', Luanne considers marrying a man she's only known for a few days (both of them had taken a chastity pledge and he was eager to sleep with her). She announces she'd be keeping her own name, because she didn't know his last name and thought she wouldn't like it. She rescinds when he tells her his surname and she does like it, but in the end, they don't get married. |
| 180 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': This is referenced in "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy", during the production of the Lisa Lionheart doll. |
| 181 | --->'''Lisa:''' ''(recording her voice for the doll)'' "When I get married, I'm keeping my own name." Oh, no, that should probably be "If I choose to get married." |
| 182 | [[/folder]] |
| 183 | |
| 184 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 185 | * When UsefulNotes/GeraldineFerraro, who didn't change her name, was the 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee, no one quite knew what to call her on the campaign trail. Senator UsefulNotes/BarryGoldwater insisted on referring to her as "Mrs. Zacarro". UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush referred to her as "Mrs. Ferraro" in their vice-presidential debate. This was before "Ms." really caught on as the marriage-neutral honorific for professional women. Fast forward 30 some years and high-ranking female politicians like Speaker UsefulNotes/NancyPelosi (''née'' D'Alesandro, the highest-ranking woman in the American government's history until 2021) are usually referred to as "Ms." even if they changed their names upon marriage (as she did). Women who didn’t change their names are also referred to as "Ms." In the former case, it just comes down to editorial standards. For example, ''The Wall Street Journal'' and ''The Washington Post'' use "Ms." as a blanket term while ''The New York Times'' asks if they want to be referred to as "Mrs." or "Ms." and uses what they prefer. |
| 186 | * In Russia around 1830, Colonel Zass, having no sons, would allow Major Rantsev to marry his daughter only if the newlyweds take the name Zass-Rantsev. And he would not accept Rantsev-Zass since the Zass family was much nobler. Nothing unusual for those days except that "Zass-Rantsev" sounds like "shitter" in Russian. The groom had to petition the tsar to change the name to Rantsev-Zass. Fortunately, Nikolai I didn't like "discordant" names and encouraged his subjects to change them. |
| 187 | * Since her marriage to Creator/{{David Mitchell|Actor}} in 2012, Victoria Coren has used all three variations of her name [[note]]Victoria Coren, Victoria Mitchell, and Victoria Coren Mitchell[[/note]], in both personal and professional capacities, [[http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/15/women as chronicled in her The Observer column.]] |
| 188 | * Artist [[https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/04/24/why-i-chose-keep-my-last-name-when-i-got-married/ Tenzing Lhamo Dorjee]] discussed keeping her maiden name in a comic she published in the ''Washington Post'' in 2022. |
| 189 | * The star of ''Series/DrPimplePopper'', dermatologist Sandra Lee, is another example of a woman who uses her maiden name for professional purposes. Her Southern California practice, Skin Physicians & Surgeons, is owned and operated by Lee and her dermatologist husband Jeffrey Rebish. |
| 190 | * Same with 1984 Olympic gold medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton. She uses her husband's surname of Kelley in her private life, but continues to use her maiden name as a sports commentator. |
| 191 | * According to Japanese law, married couples have to share the same surname (though in 95% of cases, it's the husband's name chosen). [[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/02/japan-sato-only-name-by-2531-marriage-law In 2024]], an economics professor urged the government to change the law to allow for separate surnames since otherwise, by 2531, everyone in Japan would have the family name "Sato". |
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