Letters to the Editor
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combined names
Though not married yet, I'm not sure I'll give up my surname when/if the time comes. But there are other options. Some Spanish-speaking countries have come up with an elegant solution...
First of all, most people have two surnames. The first is the
father's surname and the second is the mother's.
So if Mr. A B marries Ms. X Y, they each keep their names. The children will have the surname A X, and you address letters to "the X A Family."
When each person has one surname, I like the Anglo practice of creating a hyphenated surname. (Though this doesn't seem to be popular. Is there a prejudice against hyphens?)
By the way, more than one Latin American has expressed confusion to me about how in the US we claim to be less patriarchal than in Latin countries, but here women are expected to change the very marker of their identity when they marry.