Do you know all your friends' surnames?

[Twiglett]

because I don't

am about to look after friend's car for 4 months .. ie he wants to park it near my house, I'll keep an eye on it and switch on the ignition once in a while

I only know his first name though .. its weird he's our carpenter .. he's been lovely to us for a couple of years and we have good chats and he's great with the kids (he's in his 70s before anyone starts hmmm'ing btw)

how can I possibly ask his last name now?

"How do you spell your surname?"

Just hope it's Krystunskizynkskioviic-Caellaighghbunshire and not Jones.

Why do you need it?
I know most friend's surnames because:

I went to school with them
or worked with them
or they're mumsnetters therefore we email (although I don't know some, i.e. Iota, only know her first rl name) and their surname's in the mail
I've known them years and just know their surnames

I know my two closest friends surnames as we were at school together and a few others but there are lots of friends that I don't know.

It reminds me of a guy we knew years ago -everyone knew him as Elvis (not sure where the nickname came from as he looks nothing like Elvis).

Anyway we once borrowed his van to move house or something. It occured to us that if we got stopped by the police they would ask "Is this your vehicle?" and we would have had to tell them "No it belongs to Elvis"

I had a friend like that BS - Everyone called him Eddie... I found out about 3 yrs later that he was actually called Dan

I have a couple of friends who's surnames I don't know (and one who I have asked several times and I still forget).

Just laugh and say that its suddenly occurred to you that you don't actually know it!

Same as flamesparrow - make it lighthearted, something like 'this is really mad, after we've been friends all this time, but I've realised I don't actually know your surname!'

I'm in the middle of attempting to arrange a joint birthday party with my dd's nursery friend, and I don't actually know her surname - I would consider her mum a friend as well, not just 'mum of dd's friend'. I think it begins with a B!

Someone I knew through our dcs being at the same school told me when she first met her dh he was introduced as 'Bruce'. They were living together before she discovered (when the post arrived) that his christian name was totally different and the 'Bruce' was a nickname because his surname was Brewster!!!!

So had she been thinking that his full name was Bruce Brewster? Kinda catchy actually.

It's becoming less and less a necessity isn't it?
I have by my side a present for the new baby of a very dear friend who I have known since I was 14 and his girlfriend of 10 years. I can't send it yet as I am not sure of her last name (and I sure as hell am not going to address it just to him when she did all the work!)

Walnutshell - she said she was really cross as she felt she had been deceived about his real identity (but she had come out of a bad relationship before him and was very sensitive perhaps.) Made me wonder if she actually knew his surname when they moved in together!

As for catchy/rhyming name combinations, I have come across that quite a few times, but is doesn't always sound good, like the bloke who worked in the same place as dh called John John.

Oh, I am completely undone .. he's a Mr Rochester

(yes I know its a different character from a different novel but I couldn't resist)