Where does the double barrelling stop

[DooWhaaDiddy]

If an unmarried couple give the child both of their surnames, and that child then goes on to have a child with a partner who also has a doublebarrelled surname what do they do? Where does it stop! Application forms or the register at schools must be a nightmare

Could someone explain to me what the difference is between ;
Sarah Smith Rowntree and
Sarah Smith-Rowntree thanks.

In some cultures (mine included) you take both your mother and your father's surname. So long surnames can't be helped, it is what it is . I still use a shortened version as my signature would never fit on a form. But I like having both names its my culture anyway and why do some people even care?

Eventually though someone's name will get dropped.
Is it the father or mothers?
You can't keep using endless names so for example
Mary Brownlow- Smith marries Pierre Brown-Jefferson.
Their child then becomes what John Brownlow- Smith Brown Jefferson
He marries Susan Peaker James Lindsay White
What is their child called?
If you say they can pick from the many surnames someone's will be dropped.
So you will often end up with a child who only has both grandma's names or whatever.
However you do it someone's family name will not be carried on.

However you do it someone's family name will not be carried on.

As said below, they've been doing this in Spain for years and I'm not sure anyone there is wringing their hands about it.

But Emily, individuals can then choose which names they want to drop instead of just being given their father's name and their mother's sinking into obscurity at birth.

Emily do you need a rule? Would that satisfy you?

Eventually though someone's name will get dropped. Is it the father or mothers?

In the same way that the person concerned currently decides whether to keep their name, change to their partner's name, or for the two of them to create an entirely new name, that is what will continue to happen. There will be no assumption the child will quadruple barrel or drop any or all names upon marriage. Just like now, it will be entirely up to all the individuals concerned to decide for their own situation. Surely that is obvious?

Emily- why do you need a rule? People can choose. My children have a hyphenated name. (not double barreled, for the reasons I gave earlier). They sometimes choose to use one or the other but usually both. My name is unusual but short and easy to pronounce and spell, so ds tends to use that for sporting things, for example.

I know a child.

Mumsname-dadsname

Split up- not married. Mum marries

Mumsname-dadsname-stepdadsname.

Split up. Came in to ask us to change his name on our records to

Mumsname-dadsname-stepdadsname-newboyfriendsname

I refused without some legal paperwork to back it up. Boyfriend now seems to be off the scene.

I do think part of the problem is that many (British - though not all - in Scotland a woman adding her husband's surname as an adjunct and a child having the mother's surname as a middle name is not so unusual) people are so used to wife takes husband's name, child takes father's name that anything else provokes a reaction of "argh this is crazy lawlessness, there are no rules, this must be attention-seeking madness, why can't people just take the man's name and STFU!!!!"

A British Asian friend of mine has her mum's surname, as do all her sisters (it is a surname only ever given to women), and her brothers all have different surnames, none of which are their father's. They are very much a family, have never felt they lack a common identity etc. It's only those with a complete lack of imagination who exist in a state of "cannot compute" who have a problem with it.

I think people should smash their names together.

Brown marries Williams = Brilliams
Green marries Jones = Grones

Next gen: Brilliams marries Grones = Brigrones

And of course NormalService's anecdote proves that all mothers who double-barrel their kids names are feckless harlots, jumping from man to man 🙄

Hahaha, I love some of these threads. Yes, I personally also feel equality is just so 'chavvy', my poor children must feel so mortified as they waltz into their lovely school every day with their feminism-inspired, Spanish-heritage-influenced two surnames, not to mention a teacher might think we're... UNMARRIED!!!

@ShellyBoobs you sound positively acidic.

You've just described me. And also got my DDs name almost exactly correct - only missing out the middle name of L-A.

I love other countries naming traditions.

In Spain it is Fathers Surname Mothers Surname as mentioned above.

A good example of this are Penelope Cruz who is Penelope Cruz (father's name) Sanchez (mother's name). Her husband Javier Bardem who is Javier Encinas (father's name) Bardem (mother's name). Their kids surname will be Encinas Cruz.

Also Icelandic. Magnus Magnusson (Mastermind) is son of Magnus. His daughter Sally (news/sport presenter) if was born in Iceland would be Sally Magnusdottir but took her father's surname as she is British.

As said below, they've been doing this in Spain for years and I'm not sure anyone there is wringing their hands about it

^
Exactly Queen.

I guess taking both parents' names would seem 'different' over here but surely something easy to become used to, there are lots of unusual surnames in UK now its not as it used to be.

I wouldn't want to pass on to my child the stigma that a double-barrelled surname is now associated with

WatchTheFoxes - eh? its a STIGMA?

I would think only with people who seek out ways to label others as chavvy, for various reasons. I've not heard of it being a stigma actually. Lots of us have double barrelled names and our parents are married, as said mine are for cultural reasons its the norm where Im from

So somebody labelling another as somehow 'lower' for having a double barrelled surname Id think was ignorant and not very knowledgeable about the world.

Although Im guessing this is an English thing..? As in its not the norm so perception is that people are doing it as a fad, to be trendy? But even if thats the case, I don't get the issue with it

Can't remember which pp said teacher can tell which child has unmarried parents as surname double barrelled. Thats silly really, of course you can't always tell/be sure. People need to wise up to the times we are in

And of course NormalService's anecdote proves that all mothers who double-barrel their kids names are feckless harlots, jumping from man to man

That wasn't what I was saying.

I think people should smash their names together.

Best idea ever.

I agree that smashed names are a good idea. Smith and Jenkinson becomes Smithson or Jenkinsmith.

I know a few people with hybrid names and they 'smash-together' really well! Unfortunately in one couple the woman took the hybrid name but the man refused. I don't understand why she didn't revert to her own name but each to their own.

I dislike double barrelled surnames, they seem pretentious and very rarely sound right.

I don't know how people with them get on with filling in forms. My surname has 8 letters and I struggle enough to write it in the small spaces provided

My late father's family have a double-barrelled surname going back to at least the late 18th century. For some reason, my brother and I were registered with just the second surname. This has been a big disappointment, as the second surname is boring as fuck and the first one is much nicer.

DP hates the fact that I kept my ex's surname when we divorced (partly because I couldn't be arsed changing everything again, and partly because it's a nice name). He once asked if I would take his name if we married, and I refrained from telling him that his surname is even more boring than the one I was given, but pointed out that this would give me the same 2 names as a social worker I have professional dealings with and would cause no end of confusion at work.

We decided that we would both take his mother's maiden name, which is unusual, Cornish and lovely. I'm well past childbearing age though, so it has no implications for future generations.

@Ledehe

I thought the Spanish rules changed about 20 years ago so that the paternal name was no longer the default to go first or be passed on?

I certainly know Spanish children where the maternal name is first and has been passed onward.

DD has both her father's and my surnames because she was born in Spain and so it was easier to use Spanish convention, it's just normal. Every child takes FathersSurname MothersSurname though most children only use FathersSurname for day to day use but both are on all official documents.

In Portugal they use the same convention of taking both parents names but they flip it so it is MothersSurname FathersSurname so it is the mother's name that is passed down to the next generation.

My surname has 8 letters and I struggle enough to write it in the small spaces provided

In that case I think it's the forms that need to change. There are plenty of surnames that are longer than 8 letters. Actually come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I had to fill out a form and couldn't get DC's double-barrelled surname in the space provided.