# Why would a male have a hyphenated last name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 3, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406 "2007-10-03T18:56:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/21 "2007-10-03T21:49:56Z")
One of the players you may have noticed is London Fletcher-Baker. He went by London Fletcher until a few years ago, at which time he added “Baker,” his grandmother’s name, as a tribute to her. Announcers seem to ignore the “Baker” part, which always strikes me as rude. Maybe it’s just force of habit. ---
**Author:** ![Barracuda\_Motorcade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@Barracuda\_Motorcade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barracuda_Motorcade)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/22 "2007-10-03T21:53:52Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] One of the players you may have noticed is London Fletcher-Baker. He went by London Fletcher until a few years ago, at which time he added “Baker,” his grandmother’s name, as a tribute to her. Announcers seem to ignore the “Baker” part, which always strikes me as rude. Maybe it’s just force of habit. [/QUOTE] I am called just “Mr. Motorcade” all the time. It is a little annoying, but I recognize that folks just don’t get hyphenated names and unless I will see/speak with them again I usually don’t bother to correct them. What I REALLY don’t like is being called “Mr. Firstname”, which makes me sound like a monkey in a hat who plays the accordion. With me it is ALWAYS either Mr. Lastname or simply Firstname. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/23 "2007-10-03T22:01:23Z")
[QUOTE=bluethree] I’ve known Americans who have hyphenated last names because they are from a culture where a person who has two last names, but being in America they are forced to hyphenate the last names because we’re not used to that kind of thing around here. For example, the current Prime Minister of Spain is José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Rodríguez is his father’s last name and Zapatero is his mother’s last name. If you were to look him up in a Spanish phone book, you would look him up under Rodríguez Zapatero, not just Rodriguez. However, in America we would insist on calling him just José Luis Rodríguez, because that’s what we’re used to. If he felt strongly about his two names, he’d probably end up hypenating it. I know nothing about baseball, but I’m pretty sure the name Garciaparra is the result of cramming two last names together without a hyphen. [/QUOTE] The current mayor of L.A. did something similar. His name was Anthony Villar, and when he married his (soon-to-be-ex) wife, whose last name was Raigosa, they smooshed their names together so he’s known as Anthony Villaraigosa. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/24 "2007-10-03T23:28:55Z")
Trivia: Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith is the first player in Major League Baseball history with a hyphenated last name. (He’s white and Australian, if it matters.) ---
**Author:** ![iftheresaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecae2f/32.png) [@iftheresaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iftheresaway)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/25 "2007-10-03T23:51:09Z")
When I got married, I added my husband’s last name to the end of my, but with no hyphen, juts a space (so two last names, essentially). It’s been very interesting to see who stumbles over this and who takes it in stride - the most vexing by far is my mother, who continually forgets to include my maiden name, and will write out checks, etc. to Mrs. Husbandsname. My credit card company just smooshed the two together, which kinda cracks me up because the resulting name is almost 20 characters long. Other than that, I have had very few problems. I have had to lay down the law with a couple of people addressing stuff to Mr. and Mrs. Husband’s Full Name. There is no Mrs. Husband, people. I have a name of my very own! ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/26 "2007-10-04T00:05:55Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] One reason is if the guy’s mother’s name has some prestige attached to it. I’m not sure if William Kennedy-Smith hyphenates, but it would be that sort of situation. [/QUOTE] Kathleen Kennedy Townsend’s four daughters all have “Kennedy Townsend” as their last name. No hyphen for any of them. Her husband just goes by Mr. Townsend. But as far as male athletes go, Maurice Jones-Drew, RB for the Jacksonville Jaguars was just Maurice Drew during college. He added the Jones upon the death of his maternal grandfather, who raised him, when his grandaddy died. It’s alittle bit different case than the norm, as his name shares the maternal maiden name-paternal surname style, but the first bit was because of his grandfather and not his mother. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/27 "2007-10-04T09:32:56Z")
Then there’s [this dude](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Vennegoor_of_Hesselink), who has a Dutch spin on double-barrelled surnames - instead of hyphenating, they insert the Dutch for “or” between the two. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/28 "2007-10-04T15:50:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Just don’t ask me what happens when William Smith-Jones marries Sarah Gold-Black I’m guessing among other things they’ll need a Christmas tree _and_ a menorah. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/29 "2007-10-04T16:05:44Z")
Without knowing where the OP is from (Scotland, perhaps?), I don’t know if he meant American football or proper football ( 😉 ). But the obvious example that came to mind was [Shaun Wright-Phillips](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_Wright-Phillips), who is the adopted son of Ian Wright. AFAIK, the Phillips part is the surname of his biological father (or possibly his mother, I can’t find a decent reference). (Ian Wright married SWP’s mother, and legally adopted SWP, and the couple have other children together.) ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/30 "2007-10-04T17:15:32Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] Without knowing where the OP is from (Scotland, perhaps?), I don’t know if he meant American football or proper football ( 😉 ). But the obvious example that came to mind was [Shaun Wright-Phillips](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_Wright-Phillips), who is the adopted son of Ian Wright. AFAIK, the Phillips part is the surname of his biological father (or possibly his mother, I can’t find a decent reference). (Ian Wright married SWP’s mother, and legally adopted SWP, and the couple have other children together.) [/QUOTE] I was thinking of both- SWP specifically, and some Amercian foosball players as well. I think there’s another EPL player, maybe Morten Gamst Pedersen (sp?), while not hyphenated, Gamst and Pedersen are both last names, and now he is only using one and not both as he used to? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/31 "2007-10-04T17:55:22Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] I’m guessing among other things they’ll need a Christmas tree _and_ a menorah. [/QUOTE] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/32 "2007-10-04T18:15:51Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] I think there’s another EPL player, maybe Morten Gamst Pedersen (sp?), while not hyphenated, Gamst and Pedersen are both last names, and now he is only using one and not both as he used to? [/QUOTE] From wiki: [QUOTE=Wikipedia] In July 2006, Gamst Pedersen was given permission by the English Premier League to change the name on the back of his shirt from ‘Pedersen’ to ‘Gamst’ - his mother’s surname. [/QUOTE] So I guess he has two last names, was previously using one of them, and is now using the other. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/33 "2007-10-04T18:22:25Z")
[QUOTE=Yllaria] My sister was contemplating the hypenation pile-up back in the late eighties. She decided that the best way to do things was for girls to take their mother’s last names and boys to take their father’s. When she finally got married, however, she went traditional and just changed her name. [/QUOTE] Ain’t love grand? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/34 "2007-10-04T21:11:05Z")
[QUOTE=bluethree] For example, the current Prime Minister of Spain is José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Rodríguez is his father’s last name and Zapatero is his mother’s last name. If you were to look him up in a Spanish phone book, you would look him up under Rodríguez Zapatero, not just Rodriguez. However, in America we would insist on calling him just José Luis Rodríguez, because that’s what we’re used to. If he felt strongly about his two names, he’d probably end up hypenating it. [/QUOTE] Actually, he might well go by José Luis Zapatero; in the case of somebody with a very common father’s last name and an uncommon mother’s last name, they often choose to go primarily by the mother’s last name. Other examples are Federico (García) Lorca and Pablo (Ruiz) Picasso. ---
**Author:** ![Intelligently\_Designed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intelligently_designed/32/20957_2.png) [@Intelligently\_Designed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intelligently_Designed)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/35 "2007-10-04T21:28:42Z")
I can see the day when double last names will become a nightmare for equipment managers having to fit them on the back of uniforms and for commentators of fast-paced sports like hockey. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/36 "2007-10-04T21:36:15Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] Actually, he might well go by José Luis Zapatero; in the case of somebody with a very common father’s last name and an uncommon mother’s last name, they often choose to go primarily by the mother’s last name. Other examples are Federico (García) Lorca and Pablo (Ruiz) Picasso. [/QUOTE] Hey, I used to date a guy who did that and I never realized that was the reason. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/37 "2007-10-04T22:06:01Z")
[QUOTE=Oni no Maggie] The current mayor of L.A. did something similar. His name was Anthony Villar, and when he married his (soon-to-be-ex) wife, whose last name was Raigosa, they smooshed their names together so he’s known as Anthony Villaraigosa. [/QUOTE] Antonio, not Anthony. Even though he and his wife are getting divorced, he’s keeping the smooshed name. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/38 "2007-10-04T22:15:31Z")
I can’t believe everyone but one person is missing the most common reason for it. Jimmy Smith-Jones is not the kid of Mr and Mrs Smith-Jones. He’s the kid of Mr Smith and Ms Jones. Usually, the parents aren’t married, so no smooshing required. In at least one instance that I personally know, the parents are still married. The mom just kept her name. In my personal experience, it’s overwhelmingly due to unwed parents, not smooshing. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/39 "2007-10-04T23:26:29Z")
[QUOTE=IntelSoldier] I can’t believe everyone but one person is missing the most common reason for it. Jimmy Smith-Jones is not the kid of Mr and Mrs Smith-Jones. He’s the kid of Mr Smith and Ms Jones. Usually, the parents aren’t married, so no smooshing required. In at least one instance that I personally know, the parents are still married. The mom just kept her name. In my personal experience, it’s overwhelmingly due to unwed parents, not smooshing. [/QUOTE] Wow, I’ve NEVER heard of this, and I’m an unwed mother. (Well, was, until I got married, but the kid was 6 by that point.) My choices as I saw them were to give him my name or his father’s name. I chose his father’s, which I now wish I hadn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2007, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406/40 "2007-10-05T09:24:20Z")
[QUOTE=Intelligently Designed] I can see the day when double last names will become a nightmare for equipment managers having to fit them on the back of uniforms and for commentators of fast-paced sports like hockey. [/QUOTE] That is pretty much the case with Vennegoor of Hesselink, cited above. His name just about fits across his shoulders, but the commentators had to work hard when he was on the field during the 2006 World Cup, what with having to gabble out a heptasyllabic surname. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-male-have-a-hyphenated-last-name/421406.md?page=3)