Help me choose my own surname

[Providora]

I'm preparing to divorce, I stupidly changed my name on marriage because my father was an awful person and I didn't want to carry his name anymore.

Of course, now I don't want XH's name either and none of the names in my maternal line of ancestry really appeal. I've decided to create my own name that just mine, not attached to anyone else.

Can you help me with ideas? My rough criteria are:

• Shortish, easy to spell and pronounce, familiar but not super common.
• Flows nicely from a short first name ending with a vowel sound.
• Consistent with my English heritage.
• This is hard to articulate! - but something elegant, with a bit of gravitas, not extravagant or pompous.

Thank you!

Massey

@RubaiyatOfAnyone

I would go for Winters if i had this (rather marvellous) choice. I’ve always liked how grownup and refined it sounds.

Or De Winter. Sounds very glamorous.

Somebody you love and admire; a writer, poet, musician etc.

Chunkymenrock
Faulkner that's my married name..lol
And my Christian name Is posh sounding too.. lol.... I'm not at all

Someone I once knew had Waterfall which I thought was lovely or Rose or Gabriel

Some amazing suggestions, it makes me want to change mine! How about Loveday?

Buchanan

Flowers

Flintstone

Darling

Owen. I don't know why. I have a hard to say and spell surname and would love to change it.

Blackadder

When I was in a similar position I'd decided on the name Bridge,as it was a time of transition between two life stages.

I didn't eventually use it though,so it's all yours if you'd like OP

Carrington
Atherton
Holmes
Knight
Wright

I would caution against "de Something" name. I have one and it can be a pain, sometimes you are filed under d and sometimes under s. And people very often just leave the "de" off, which is an absolute pet hate of mine (would you call Robert de Niro "Mr Niro"??)

Beaumont, Montgomery, Clarence, Hemingway, Valentine, Arden, Lowell, Thorne, Rowan, Douglas, Nash, Raleigh.

Look through some author's names or even characters in film or tv and see if anything springs out.

Grey or gray. I've always thought very elegant and classic

Ooh love pp suggestion of Blythe. Means 'happy' doesn't it

Appleby
Halfyard
Fox
Larkin
Rose
Barclay

I LOVE
Darling or Diamond.

A colleague of mine changed hers to Angel when she divorced. Love it!

My sister’s surname is Winters. I really love it

Shelley, Blake, or Eliot?

Or a bird name, like Dove, Wren, or Eagle?

Seasons:
Spring
Summer
Winter/ Wynter

Maybe Fall instead of Autumn?

Weather:
Snow
Frost
'Hale'
'Rayne'

Trees - they have roots:
Oak
Elm
Beech
Linden
Larch
Birch
Redwood
Hawthorn
Maple

Attitude names:
Blythe
Good(e)
Truman
Freeman
Clement
Curtis
Proulx
Virtue
Grace
Noble
Fortune
Makepeace
Rock
Divine
Pilgrim
Clay
Forward
Diamond
Birdsong
Justice
Starr
Golden

McCloud (albeit not English nor short)
Charter
Give us a letter you think you’d like it to start with. Soft sounding or blunt. Can you give a little more of a visual or description of what you’d likesomeone to think of you if they just heard your name. Feminine, graceful, strong, sporty

@LesleyA

McCloud (albeit not English nor short) Charter Give us a letter you think you’d like it to start with. Soft sounding or blunt. Can you give a little more of a visual or description of what you’d likesomeone to think of you if they just heard your name. Feminine, graceful, strong, sporty

I think from those options, I'd pick strong.

To another poster who asked, yes it will be a deed poll change, it's not too difficult to do.

Diamond is another frontrunner. Darling is lovely but doesn't work with my first name.

Goddard
Hope
Hill

Jaxon