To answer the what would have made him happy about taking his name question: I only suspect it would have made my husband happy if I had taken his name--at the time he said it didn't matter to him. But I know he is very proud of his family and ancestry and the name is a part of that (they have a town named after them!)--and these are among the reasons I wanted to KEEP my own name (and we only have one street named after us back in Germany, plus a couple of hot dog stands). And this is why I think he said it didn't matter--the name said more about what was in the past and not a thing about who we are as a couple or a family.

Sarah