Every since I can remember, I have said that I was not going to change my last name. The conversation of whether or not a woman should change her last name is an interesting topic. I have come to the conclusion that as much as it is a personal choice, it is also a reflection of your culture.
For example, here in Spain a woman would never consider changing her last name. For her to change her last name is to give up her identity as one Spanish friend explained to me. Let me explain: In Spain and other Latin American countries, children take on both their father´s and mother´s last name. Example:
My dad is : Gary Alan Landaw
My mom is : Kristi Lynn Ridenour ( her maiden name)
I would then be: Amy Charisse Landaw Ridenour
My last names would be: Landaw Ridenour
Every time I fill out a form in Spain it always asks for my First Name, First Last Name and my Second Last Name.
Of course, I always leave the Second Last Name blank.
I write Amy Charisse as my first name and Landaw as my last.
But what happens? I receive phone calls looking for Ms. Charisse....
Looking at my name they assume Amy is my first name, Charisse is my first last name and Landaw is my second last name.
Jorge does not have a middle name. Instead, he has two last names : Ortiz Remolina. Ortiz being his dad's first last name and Remolina his mom's first last name.
I was not sure how I wanted to be introduced after being pronounced man and wife but opted for the traditional- Mr and Mrs. Ortiz. This of course was followed by questions by my friends-- So are you actually going to change your name???
At the moment my legal name remains Amy Charisse Landaw. If we were to move to the USA I might be more likely to change my name. I told Jorge that as a Spanish teacher I might have better chances finidng a job as Amy Ortiz than Amy Landaw- ha!
The truth is as long as we live in Spain I can't change my name without going through an extremely long process. As I said before, women don't change their names here. It is not part of their culture. Anyone can legally change their name, but it costs a lot of money and you have to go before a judge and it takes a really long time.
If I change my name in the USA, then my passport and other documents will have to be changed. When renewing residency here this will be a challenge to make them understand that I have one name in the USA and another here. So to keep things simple I am not changing my name. Am I bothered when I receive something addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Ortiz? Not at all.
Some may ask- what about your children? That is a whole other topic in itself and we will cross that bridge when the time comes. If our kids were to have two last names there last names would be: Ortiz Landaw. But honestly, I think that looks a bit silly. But like many other things, it will all depend on where we are living and what is the easiest option.
For example, here in Spain a woman would never consider changing her last name. For her to change her last name is to give up her identity as one Spanish friend explained to me. Let me explain: In Spain and other Latin American countries, children take on both their father´s and mother´s last name. Example:
My dad is : Gary Alan Landaw
My mom is : Kristi Lynn Ridenour ( her maiden name)
I would then be: Amy Charisse Landaw Ridenour
My last names would be: Landaw Ridenour
Every time I fill out a form in Spain it always asks for my First Name, First Last Name and my Second Last Name.
Of course, I always leave the Second Last Name blank.
I write Amy Charisse as my first name and Landaw as my last.
But what happens? I receive phone calls looking for Ms. Charisse....
Looking at my name they assume Amy is my first name, Charisse is my first last name and Landaw is my second last name.
Jorge does not have a middle name. Instead, he has two last names : Ortiz Remolina. Ortiz being his dad's first last name and Remolina his mom's first last name.
I was not sure how I wanted to be introduced after being pronounced man and wife but opted for the traditional- Mr and Mrs. Ortiz. This of course was followed by questions by my friends-- So are you actually going to change your name???
At the moment my legal name remains Amy Charisse Landaw. If we were to move to the USA I might be more likely to change my name. I told Jorge that as a Spanish teacher I might have better chances finidng a job as Amy Ortiz than Amy Landaw- ha!
The truth is as long as we live in Spain I can't change my name without going through an extremely long process. As I said before, women don't change their names here. It is not part of their culture. Anyone can legally change their name, but it costs a lot of money and you have to go before a judge and it takes a really long time.
If I change my name in the USA, then my passport and other documents will have to be changed. When renewing residency here this will be a challenge to make them understand that I have one name in the USA and another here. So to keep things simple I am not changing my name. Am I bothered when I receive something addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Ortiz? Not at all.
Some may ask- what about your children? That is a whole other topic in itself and we will cross that bridge when the time comes. If our kids were to have two last names there last names would be: Ortiz Landaw. But honestly, I think that looks a bit silly. But like many other things, it will all depend on where we are living and what is the easiest option.
I have the same issues! If you are in Spain when you have kids, it will be probably be easiest for them to have two names. At Emma's school, they insist upon calling her Emma Sofia Prada Prada. It is so weird, but they don't understand that the kids only have one last name, and that my last name is Prada because I changed it, not because I was born with it!
ReplyDelete