Things that irk...

[Aggie_Ama]

I don't know why but this doesn't bother me at all. I like to think I am fiercely independent but not about certain things. Maybe it is because the strongest woman I know (my Mammaw, that Pansy in my signature) still signs everything Mrs. Pawpaw's Name Surname. This is my mother's father who passed February 18, 1982!

Oddly I was very torn about changing my name and the only inner compromise was to have my middle name be replaced with my mess of german maiden name and have it placed on everything. I still have to spell it and pronounce it, makes me feel more complete. And besides I wasn't fond of my given middle name.

[Tuckervill]

I sometimes wish I had kept the name I was given at birth (the term 'maiden name' is antiquated, too, don't you think?). I did give it to my youngest son as his first name, but we don't use it. When you have children it is so complicated, maybe especially in the South, to have kids with a different name than yours. I cringed whenever I was called by my older kids' last name after the divorce, but I really can't hold it against the teachers or whomever it was. They can't really know until they're told.

Truthfully, I prefer to be called by my first name at all times, even when people I first met online and now see in person persist in calling me "Tuck" from the old AOL days. I will even ask children to please call me Karen, especially if their parents instruct them to call me Miss Karen or Mrs. Tucker, if the child will allow me to call them by their first name. I prefer to be on equal footing with all people, on a personal basis.

I never get mail addressed to Mrs. Charles Tucker. Thank goodness!

Karen

[Crankin]

I also wish I had not changed my last name. This was the only thing we fought about before the wedding. My husband felt really strongly about it, so I changed it. Of course, a couple of years later, after rethinking many of his "ideas," he told me he really didn't think it was a big deal and I could change it back. I didn't want to go through the trouble. I also use my birth name as my middle name, which is extremely common around here. I don't use a hyphen, but on anything official, I sign both last names. Both of my boys have my last name as their middle name. They hated it until we moved to an area when at least 50% of the kids had hyphenated last names or at least their mom's name as a middle name. Now, my older son will sign his full name on documents, while #2 uses an initial or nothing. In fact, he still doesn't spell my name (his middle name) correctly half the time. He just feels it's too long to write.
I'd say at least half of the women around where I live keep their own name, and probably closer to 80% of the younger women.

[7rider]

I kept my own name, and my family - on the rare occasions when they send me anything - addresses me by a "married" name - i.e., Mrs. HusbandsName. My brother has me that way in his email address book.
I just shrug it off. I've got bigger issues to worry about.
We often said, growing up, "You can call me anything you like. Just don't call me late for dinner!"

[Bluetree]

Some friends of mine combined their last names. One was named "Kirk" and the other was "Lin"

They are now Mr. and Mrs. Kirklin!