Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

I want a new surname (suggestions)

232 replies

HoHoHoliday · 17/10/2023 21:47

A bit random perhaps to some people, but I really want to change my surname!
What are the nicest surnames that you know? Any suggestions?

Background -
My surname from birth, I've always thought it was plain and boring, and it's very common.
I always imagined I would change it when I married, but I never got married, and I'm now late 40s and don't plan to marry even if I eventually meet "the one".
I don't have children, my dad is gone now, my mother has the same surname only through marriage to my dad, my siblings have different surnames through marriage, and I don't feel any particular attachment to extended family so I've no need to "honour" their name.
So I thought I'd treat myself to a new name! I want a name that when I introduce myself, people might think "that's a nice name". Something not overly common, but not so unusual that I have to spell it out repeatedly either. I am English, but I spent five years total living in different parts of Scandinavia so perhaps would be nice to choose a link to that part of my life, but doesn't need to be.

OP posts:
Trixiefirecracker · 17/10/2023 23:01

Bythesea

SecondUsername4me · 17/10/2023 23:01

Everdeen

Trixiefirecracker · 17/10/2023 23:01

Or Cloud

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Valstarino · 17/10/2023 23:04

Westward

cardibach · 17/10/2023 23:05

FoxtrotOscarFoxtrotOscar · 17/10/2023 22:05

I've always liked the surname du Plessis for some reason.
The Icelandic suffix "dottir" is appealing - HoHoHolidaydottir.

This. Your mothers given name+dottir

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 17/10/2023 23:06

Obsidian
Petrichor
Nutella
Greensleeves
Bellevue
Newleaf
Cornmeadow
Dreadnought
Plinth
Matterhorn
Spatchcock
Moonshadow
Cloudhopper
Starsailor
Letheringsett
Palimpsest
Danger
Powers
Father Todd Umptious

omega4ever · 17/10/2023 23:10

I'd choose Holiday if I could change surname. Great idea.

Dotcheck · 17/10/2023 23:10

Trixiefirecracker · 17/10/2023 23:01

Or Cloud

St Cloud 💜💜

letshaveanicecuppatea · 17/10/2023 23:10

I used to work with a lady whose surname was Summerbell, which I thought was a beautiful name.

I also love Pendragon.

What about something from a favourite book like (Prof) Minerva-McGonagall or Dumbledore or Legolas from LOTR 😁

Lavenderosa · 17/10/2023 23:10

I agree with going for a name towards the start of the alphabet - you could consider some aristocratic ones:

Abercromby
Arbuthnot
Arundell
Asquith
Beaufort
Beresford
Cadogan
Cavendish
Chichester

hockeysticks89 · 17/10/2023 23:12

Diamond
Valentine

FoxtrotOscarFoxtrotOscar · 17/10/2023 23:12

Penhaligon
Bond
Keats
Wordsworth
Shakespeare
Bluebell

FeatherBlack · 17/10/2023 23:15

Deffo go with something at the start of the alphabet. My maiden name starts with a c. The married name with an s. I hate being at the bottom of lists now. Someone said that to me before and I thought it was a load of rubbish, but it's true!!!!!

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 17/10/2023 23:16

I'd choose Holiday if I could change surname. Great idea.

Not Holibobs?! Grin

Something starting with St is always good - how about St Columba?

Or a posh-sounding name that starts with at least three Fs.

Mamoun · 17/10/2023 23:18

Rosemont

Mamoun · 17/10/2023 23:18

Carmichael is lovely

PenOfTentacles · 17/10/2023 23:20

Have you got a family tree OP? If you do a DNA test with ancestry it gives you a few family names for each of your genetic communities, names that are shared among your closest genetic relatives.

cakegoblin · 17/10/2023 23:20

De Cadenet - always loved the number of syllables

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 17/10/2023 23:23

I always thought that Beaumont sounded stylishly understated - but the society of the same name would rather ruin it for me now.

Snapdragon
Carnegie
Redoubtable
Balayage
Vanquish
Endeavour (but don't call any pets Trevor)
Paradine
Whatstandwell
Barleycorn
Amnesty

7catsisnotenough · 17/10/2023 23:26

I worked with a Fullalove many years ago...

elQuintoConyo · 17/10/2023 23:26

Winterpark.

Totally made up, but I love it. There'd be deer, and sleigh rides, and fur muffs, and ice skating and snowball fights and robins ...

Celibacyinthesticks · 17/10/2023 23:27

Shakespeare
Carmichael
Marple

How cool to be a Miss Marple!

Wildhorses2244 · 17/10/2023 23:27

How about something with a nod to the fact that you’ve reinvented yourself?

phoenix? Rose? Summer? Newman?

ALittleTeawithmilk · 17/10/2023 23:32

I have not RTFT but my suggestion is try out surnames that begin with the same sound as your first name: sometimes alliterative names sound great.

Apologies if this has already been suggested.

ghislaine · 17/10/2023 23:38

Fox
Spencer
Ffoulkes
Bond
Castle
Kennedy
Dixon
Charteris
Beaumont
Ditton
Purcell

What a wonderful opportunity, OP.

Swipe left for the next trending thread