Changing surname

[SunflowerT]

Hi

My sister is changing her surname and she's asked me which I like the most between 2 names and I honestly can't pick but want to help her make a decision as she is Autistic so struggles to make final decisions when she stuck on things.

Her name is Sara and she hates her last name she still has our mum's maiden name and we have not spoken to mums family in over 15 years now because of how nasty they were to my sister mum would change it too but she thinks she's too old so can't be bothered where im lucky i have my husband's last name.

I was hoping you all might help by telling me which of the two last names you think suit her first name better because I like both but want to help her.

Does she pronounce her name S-air-ah or S-ahh-ra?

cos if it’s the second, I’d go for Kensington

Could she change it to the same as yours so she still has a family connection to the name?

As a kid she always got called the first one and on her birth certificate it's spelt Sarah however she hated how it sounded and once she turned 18 she changed it to Sara and we all pronounce it the second one now

Kensington.

s-AR-h and D-AR-lington sound too similar

Kensington then.

Darlington has the same sound as Sara so sounds worse when put together.

That was her first thought but she can't pronounce our surname ( my husband's Italian) we've tried and had a lot of laughs along the way of teaching her but she still can't pronounce it not matter how hard she tries.

Kensington then! It reminds me of Peter Pan which has some heart-breakingly lovely bits about lost children and mothers, so in my mind that has nice connotations for an adopted name.

I love place names as surnames, and she had two to chose from. Kensington sounds grand and urban, Darlington is more non-nonsense. I am probably biased though, as I know both places.

Just seen your update on pronounciation. Kensington then.

What a lovely connection @Hurumphh !
I never would have thought of that, but it's settled for me now too, I vote for Kensington as the new surname for your sister, OP.
Whichever surname Sara eventually chooses,I hope she'll be very happy with it.

She loves both places as well although Kensington came from her love of Kensington palace/ Gardens it's her favourite place in the UK after Broadway in the Cotswolds.

The way you described both names sounds so much like her too when you said Kensington sounds grand and regal as thats her she loves all things royal and going to grand buildings.

Then the non nonsense for Darlington is her too she's firm but fair and you know you can't lie to her she's literally a living lie detector and knows if your up to something or done something you shouldn't also she's very career motivated she's an accountant and loves her job even though to me it sounds boring. Both names really suit her which is why it's so hard but a lot of good points have been made in this thread so far.

That's really beautiful after thinking about your other reply I'm going to tell her my vote is Kensington too because even though she pronounces it S-ahh-ra my mum still pronounces it S-air-ah as that's what she called her so she sticks to that as do some of her friends from a young age who are just used to that pronunciation and my sister is fine with this. So based on that Kensington would suit both ways of pronouncing her name compared to Darlington.