My husband took his mom’s maiden name when he turned 18. His dad basically left him and his mom when he was 9, never paid child support, and was a jacka**. He hyphenated it for awhile, then eventually dropped his dad’s last name for good. I’m not sure if it’s the name part or the dad-leaving-part, but it (he) seriously messed with his sense of self… even to this day.
The only people I know who have their mum’s last name are people born to unmarried mothers (usually ones whose partners take off).
My dad and his brother got their mum’s surname as a middle name. It helped that it was an old English name that could be both surname and first name. Myself and my two brothers also suffered with this affliction. Really why give me a middle name “Onslow”?
I have my mom’s last name. Then again, my parents were never married so I’m probably not what you’re looking for. The only stress it caused me was due to the fact that my mother’s side of the family has a really bad last name. My father’s last name is very normal and I used to wish I’d had it. Now I kind of like my unusual last name because of a “fuck you, that’s why” kind of thing.
My daughter has my MIL maiden name. It’s a beautiful French name.