# What last name did these couples go by when they got married? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-last-name-did-these-couples-go-by-when-they-got-married/811009 "2018-03-22T04:22:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-last-name-did-these-couples-go-by-when-they-got-married/811009/21 "2018-03-23T12:55:32Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > It wasn’t a fad of the 1970’s. It may have started to be common enough that you noticed it, but it hasn’t decreased any lately. It may be more common lately. There are at least six ways now that people choose last names for children: > > Father’s surname > Mother’s surname > Hyphenation, or a double-barrelled surname (without a hyphen) > Alternating the two parents’ surnames between siblings > Combining the two surnames into a portmanteau or blended surname > Making up a completely new surname I am so glad I have a conservative family. Coming up with a first and middle name is freakin hard enough without having to come to consensus on something like this! ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-last-name-did-these-couples-go-by-when-they-got-married/811009/22 "2018-03-23T13:43:12Z")
If two people can’t agree on which two of their four last names to join in hyphenation, maybe they’re nit ready for marriage. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-last-name-did-these-couples-go-by-when-they-got-married/811009/23 "2018-03-23T14:50:46Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Why is it that the world never remembered the name of Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern- schplenden- schlitter- crasscrenbon- fried- digger- dingle- dangle- dongle- dungle- burstein- von- knacker- thrasher- apple- banger- horowitz- ticolensic- grander- knotty- spelltinkle- grandlich- grumblemeyer- spelterwasser- kurstlich- himbleeisen- bahnwagen- gutenabend- bitte- ein- nürnburger- bratwustle- gerspurten- mitz- weimache- luber- hundsfut- gumberaber- shönedanker- kalbsfleisch- mittler- aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm? That’s my name too! ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-last-name-did-these-couples-go-by-when-they-got-married/811009/24 "2018-03-23T14:52:42Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > I am so glad I have a conservative family. Coming up with a first and middle name is freakin hard enough without having to come to consensus on something like this! 😕 Are you claiming that choosing among just a few surname options is **more** difficult or burdensome than choosing out of literally millions of options for given names? I know several couples who chose one of the non-patrilineal alternatives for their children’s surnames, and according to all of them the surname decision was a trivial no-brainer compared to deciding on the given name(s). > [@j666](#): > > If two people can’t agree on which two of their four last names to join in hyphenation, maybe they’re n[o]t ready for marriage. This. I think most bridal couples already know what they want their and their potential children’s surnames to be when going into the marriage. Of course, some couples have to deal with their families making a big fuss if they make a nontraditional surname choice (i.e., anything other than the conventional patrilineal or father-derived surname), which I presume would be especially true in conservative families. So if you’re factoring that into the burden of surname choice then I suppose it does make it more difficult. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-last-name-did-these-couples-go-by-when-they-got-married/811009/25 "2018-03-23T15:41:02Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Agreed, I’ve never seen anything like that. Very bizarre. I don’t think it’s bizarre at all. When seniority is an issue ( as it has been for three of my employers) tiebreakers are needed for those hired on the same date. Drawing numbers can work with a small enough employer, but so much not at large employers with multiple locations ( How does Target use that sort of system with about 1800 stores?) . Some of the tiebreakers I have seen are 1. Time in title 2. Score on a civil service test 3)Third letter of the last name 3. a “scramble” where the first three letters of the last name are revered and assigned numerical values . For example [SIZE=2]WRIght =IRW = 996 is senior to REYes = YER = 859 [/SIZE] [SIZE=2]5) Lower Social Security number [/SIZE] There are more that I can’t recall at the moment. The odder provisions are generally for people who remain tied through a few tiebreakers- for example, the lower social security number tiebreaker only applies when people are still tied after a number of previous tiebreakers. For example, they began employment on the same date, they have the same time in title, they had the same score on the civil service test _and_ the third letter of the last name is the same in both cases. [SIZE=2][/SIZE] [SIZE=2] [/SIZE] [SIZE=2] [/SIZE] ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-last-name-did-these-couples-go-by-when-they-got-married/811009/26 "2018-03-24T02:28:30Z")
Quebec has a law that stipulates that a child can be given only two last names. In the situation of the OP, they can be any one two of the four in any order, but no more than 2. Informal name changes (a la common law) and a wife taking her husband’s name are not permitted for official use. A woman I know teaching in a community college had a lot of trouble getting paid because she and her husband had the same last name (they were in fact first cousins) and the software had been programmed to reject that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-last-name-did-these-couples-go-by-when-they-got-married/811009.md?page=1)