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Double-Barrelled Surnames

I understand what you mean about giving oneself a double-barrelled surname, but what if one's surname is Smith, and they hate the plainness; then they traced their family tree and found a surname of their 6 or 7x great grandparents which died out in the 1700s, and they wanted to 'revive' it by double barrelling?

Well that's up to them, although I still wouldn't do it. It's not your name, it's a name you have found you like better than your own. That's a bit like when you're about 5 deciding you don't like your name anymore and everyone has to call you Fifi because you like it better....kind of make believe!
Wouldn't bother me if someone else did it though

Reply 21

rylit91

OP

3

Original post by alibobs

Well that's up to them, although I still wouldn't do it. It's not your name, it's a name you have found you like better than your own. That's a bit like when you're about 5 deciding you don't like your name anymore and everyone has to call you Fifi because you like it better....kind of make believe!
Wouldn't bother me if someone else did it though

I know what you mean, but in the case I'm referring to it's their own direct ancestors, not a name just plucked out of nowhere.

Reply 22

alibobs

14

Original post by rylit91

I know what you mean, but in the case I'm referring to it's their own direct ancestors, not a name just plucked out of nowhere.

Yes, i read your original post and I did pick that up. It's still not your name is it. It's a name that has been in your family in the past, but it's not yours. Therefore you are deciding you like a name better than your own and want to use it again. It's no more your name than it is your best friend's name. If I decided i liked my maternal grandmother's surname better than mine, I could use it if I wanted but it's not mine, just someone in my family's.

Reply 23

Absurd.

5

I have a double-barrelled surname, but only because when my dads parents split up both of them wanted him to take their name, so he got landed with a double-barrelled surname.

Reply 24

Joinedup

20

Used to mean upper class twits... increasingly it seems to means kid from a :broken:

nontraditional family.

Reply 25

Wildebeest

13

Whilst there are some quite classy-sounding ones (Smythe-Fortescue and so forth!), they more than often don't flow very well. My surname is phonetically one that needs to be left on its own; I certainly wouldn't consider taking the deed poll route to find it a partner!

Reply 26

NoLoSe

I like them. In some cultures, Hispanic countries in particular, it is unusual to have one surname, and the passport forms don't allow for one surname! And in every case I've seen, the dad's first surname becomes the child's, then the mother's first surname becomes the child's second surname.
As a cultural thing, I'm used to double-barrelled names as they are common in my family. In England it is seen as unusual, isn't it? And surnames are joined by a hyphen (-)? In my family they aren't...
Anyway, if you were thinking of reviving an old family name by double barelling your own, go for it! It doesn't do any harm, and if you've read my ramblings you'd realise that in some places in the world it's normal to carry on more than just one family name!!

Reply 27

JesusIsMyHomeboy

9

If my surname was double barrelled, it'd be Patel-Patel so I'd sound like a right ****.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 28

nexttime

22

I know of someone who didn't have a double-barreled surname but pretended he did...

Reply 29

Mr Inquisitive

16

Original post by rylit91

What do you think of people who have them?

What would you think of someone who double-barrelled their surname though Deed Poll with a name that died out in their family hundreds of years ago? Snob? Pretentious?

I have one. :biggrin:

I don't use it though, as I would be called all sorts of things like "pretentious". I should use it really, though.

Reply 30

Joinedup

20

Original post by NoLoSe

I like them. In some cultures, Hispanic countries in particular, it is unusual to have one surname, and the passport forms don't allow for one surname! And in every case I've seen, the dad's first surname becomes the child's, then the mother's first surname becomes the child's second surname.
As a cultural thing, I'm used to double-barrelled names as they are common in my family. In England it is seen as unusual, isn't it? And surnames are joined by a hyphen (-)? In my family they aren't...

Mmm hyphen's are probably good otherwise you can confuse people and especially computers... I got marked down for (correctly) putting an unhyphenated double barrelled surname of an author in a reference list for a multi author paper - the second surname was one of those that could also have been a christian name. without a hyphen it looked like a mistake.

Reply 31

.Ali.

3

I don't really care...it's a name. :tongue:

Reply 32

rylit91

OP

3

Some people say some sound more 'classy' (I hate that word for several reasons) and others indicate a chav-ridden family with bastard children (don't give me a warning for that word, it's been used appropriately!) The one in question would be Holdsworth-Smith.

What do you think of that?

Reply 33

edd360

15

My mother kept her surname when marrying my farther. I have 2 sisters and they both have a double-barrelled surname. I however, only have my father's last name, and have my mother's surname as a middle name (I have 2 middle names). This has actually caused loads of confusion my whole life, as for like the first 15 years of it, I always used a double-barrelled surname. My school had my name down as a double barrelled one, and so does my university at the moment. But my passport only has one.

Reply 34

Jenii

15

Original post by rylit91

Some people say some sound more 'classy' (I hate that word for several reasons) and others indicate a chav-ridden family with bastard children (don't give me a warning for that word, it's been used appropriately!) The one in question would be Holdsworth-Smith.

What do you think of that?

I think Holdsworth-Smith sounds absolutely fine as a name. I don't think double-barrelled surnames are an indicator of class (or lack thereof). In the past I believe it was the eldest daughter of a upper-class family that had no sons that took a double-barrelled surname when she got married, but nowadays lots of people do it for a whole variety of reasons.

Depending on the surname of the person I marry, I would consider having (and giving my children) a double-barrelled surname.

Reply 35

History-Student

16

What happens if a double barreller and a single namer marry and refuseto give up a name between them? Are triple barrelled names allowed? What about quads?

Reply 36

Jenii

15

Original post by History-Student

What happens if a double barreller and a single namer marry and refuseto give up a name between them? Are triple barrelled names allowed? What about quads?

Couldn't they just keep their own names when they got married. Don't know about the kids. Flip a coin for their names?

Reply 37

BoroGrecian

I'm glad my o/h on a daily basis dosen't use his double barrelled surname, pretentious is just one word for it which could be used. If I marry him, I will end up being saddled with it though :frown:

Reply 38

SergioMZ

12

Original post by DirtyPrettyThing

Gemma, what will your children be called? Say if you're smith and your husband is wesson, and your kids are called Smith-Wesson, what then if THEY meet somebody who wants to keep their name, what will THEIR kids be called? You'll end up with triple barrelled names! For this reason I think we should stick with the system of the kids being named after one parent, not both.

Google how names are given in Spain, Portugal and most of Latin America.

Original post by Cicerao

Try going to countries like Spain and Portugal, and tell me if you think they're snobby then. :colonhash:

This.

Personally, I have two surnames (not double-barrelled, but separate surnames), and I'm proud of them both.
My children will inherit my first surname only, but if I become a British citizen, I will most certainly double-barrel my surnames so my children inherit both (and the mother's one, if it can be done). I don't want them to have a very long surname, but it's sexist and pretty archaic to give only the father's surname.