McLovin the Name

There was never a question of whether I'd take Mr. P's last name. It just feels right. Beyond that I haven't given it much thought. Which is unusual for this over-thinking over-planner.

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A Christmas present from my mom shortly after announcing our engagement. Alas, it is more interesting with last names intact, but privacy y'know?!

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I do have my reasons, silly as some may be.

1. I like the idea of joining us together in name. That said, I'm keeping my last name for professional reasons. In a business where your name is your calling card, I'd lose all those years of hard work making a name for myself.

2. Matching names. My first and last names are distinctly French, and while his last name isn't, it passes well for one. That'll do pig, that'll do.

3. I like the rhythm of speaking and writing his last name.

4. We both have uncommon last names that are tricky to pronounce, but his is less common AND more difficult to pronounce. So we'll do our part to "repopulate" with his last name and confuse unsolicited callers for years to come. 

5. Phonetic rhyming: both of our last names start with a letter that has a "long E" sound (B, G, P, T, Z, etc).

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Hive, just for fun (and the off-chance one of you loves this type of thing as much as me), I'm sharing a surname distribution map I stumbled upon years ago. Only the 50,000 most popular last names are available. Growing up, I always thought our last name was uncommon. Apparently not!

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So far, I haven't experienced any anxiety or sense of loss over my decision. The only thing I'm not sure of is if I'll keep my middle name or move my maiden name there.

If you changed your name, when did the finality of your decision hit you? Any regrets or unexpected emotions? I'm also curious if anyone moved their maiden name into middle name position!