38. Hyphenated Names

 

We have all met or read about someone with a hyphenated name, for example, Karen Sampson-Jones.  Names have always fascinated me for some reason, and it occurred to me that there might be some rules (formal or informal?) around the crafting of such names.  Not sure when this naming phenomenon first began but it seems to me to be within the last fifty years or so.  

 

For example, how to choose the order of the two components?  Or what is the proper order of the two components?  Should it be Jones-Sampson or Sampson-Jones?  Do you choose the paternal or maternal for the first past of the combination?  The answer appears to be that “It’s up to you”.  

 

However, hyphenating your last name is considered a legal name change – meaning you can't just drop your spouse's name or the hyphen in the future without having to go through a court-ordered name change.

 

Hyphenating is considered a legal name change so you’ll still need to go through the process of updating all your legal documents (social security card, driver’s license, passport, etc.) and personal accounts (banks, credit cards, TSA Pre✓, etc.).  If this seems like a huge pain to you may be better off keeping your current last name.  If you want to check on the rules in your state, Cornell University keeps an updated marriage law database.

 

Rhetorical question:  what happens when a hyphenated name person marries another hyphenated name person?  For genealogists, can your genealogy software cope?

 

To learn more about such topics, join your local genealogical society.  You may find a fellow member who is struggling with the same issues like hyphenation.  

 

Ron Gilmore

Email:         rvg3@me.com

Website:     https://www.rgenealogy.ca