leviathan Posted July 25, 2011 Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 I want to get my name changed before I get my MD. I have not had a problem with people going ... wait, that's not you! Unless they're from Fed-Ex! Tee hee! I remember considering changing my surname when I was engaged. At the time, he was of Ukranian descent and had a very non-asian last name - I think it would really confuse people! "Oh, Dr. Smith, the asian one!" We had a presentation from a Dr. "Smith" during surgery grand rounds. I was confused when an asian guy was up on stage and said "where is Dr. Smith and who is this guy?". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted July 25, 2011 Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 We had a presentation from a Dr. "Smith" during surgery grand rounds. I was confused when an asian guy was up on stage and said "where is Dr. Smith and who is this guy?". Probably more confusing to see a male in this scenario, since a female might be assumed to be using her married name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviathan Posted July 25, 2011 Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 Probably more confusing to see a male in this scenario, since a female might be assumed to be using her married name. Haha yeah, maybe he took his wife's name, or maybe he was adopted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatonekid Posted July 25, 2011 Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 I love my name. It's who I am. Professionally, I'm going to keep my name. If it makes a difference to my future husband, I'd consider changing it for social situations - or if his last name was really awesome. I've been me for 27 years, and I'd like to keep it that way.These are my thoughts too (except for the 27 years part ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEmeraldTablet Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 I've always had the opposite reaction: "Oh my gosh your name is sooo beautiful" or "Wow, how do you say that again?" My name is ethnic but I love,love,love it because it so unique. I'm pretty sure no one else in my university has that name, its pretty rare. So when people think of my name there's only one person that they correlate with that so it helps you stand out. Why be like everyone else? I don't really know why anyone would ever pick a generic name. It seems so phony and if I did that all my family and friends would probably laugh in my face Oh and girls don't change your last names. So archaic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 In Quebec, a woman's legal surname is her maiden name and the surname of her husband is not relevant for legal purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proton Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 I know it's old fashioned but I kind of like the idea of changing my last name if I get married...although like I said before, I'd probably just add it on and keep my last name in the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarathonRunner Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Oh and girls don't change your last names. So archaic. Well, I am biased because I did take my husband's last name, but it's because I WANTED to. This is who I am. Perhaps it's because I never felt strongly about my maiden name. I was adopted as an infant and never felt particularly close to my parents. I feel much, much closer to my husband. He is my family. I am part of his family, so much more so than I was ever part of my family. So my current last name defines who I am so much more than my maiden name did. I don't think it's archaic at all to take your husband's name, just as I don't think it's modern to keep your maiden name. I think it is up to the woman to do what she wants, and both are perfectly acceptable (as are other options, such as hyphenating or using your maiden name as a middle name). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerena Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 I won't change my last name after I get married. Why? I can't even pronounce my boyfriend's last name. And, I just really like my last name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misskris Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 How do your parents and families feel about name change? I have a Chinese last name and I don't speak a word of Chinese (I'm only a quarter Chinese) and I can see patients who see my name expecting me to speak chinese, and I can see it being a lot less hassle to have an English name. But I'd only change my name if I got married. I briefly mentioned last night that if I got married I'd take my husband's last name and be Dr. Whatever-his-last-name-is. Anyway, to make a long story short my father was quite insulted to the point that he's not talking to me this morning. My mom changed her last name when she married him, but apparently that's different somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Your father has an ego problem. Of course, he wanted your mom to take his name but he wants you to continue to use his name. The rules change but the name remains the same so from his viewpoint, he is entirely consistent. It is your life and you need to do whatever makes you comfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 I won't change my last name after I get married.Why? I can't even pronounce my boyfriend's last name. And, I just really like my last name Good for you! And give teacup Persia your lat name too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scissortail Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 How do your parents and families feel about name change? I have a Chinese last name and I don't speak a word of Chinese (I'm only a quarter Chinese) and I can see patients who see my name expecting me to speak chinese, and I can see it being a lot less hassle to have an English name. But I'd only change my name if I got married. I briefly mentioned last night that if I got married I'd take my husband's last name and be Dr. Whatever-his-last-name-is. Anyway, to make a long story short my father was quite insulted to the point that he's not talking to me this morning. My mom changed her last name when she married him, but apparently that's different somehow. Well I guess it's ok to change your last name because you love your husband, as in your mom's case. But from your post, it sounds like you want to change it because you're rejecting your current Chinese last name, therefore rejecting the family/culture your current name represent. If you had married a guy also with a Chinese last name, would you still take his name? Your dad may just feel a little rejected right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misskris Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Well I guess it's ok to change your last name because you love your husband, as in your mom's case. But from your post, it sounds like you want to change it because you're rejecting your current Chinese last name, therefore rejecting the family/culture your current name represent. If you had married a guy also with a Chinese last name, would you still take his name? Your dad may just feel a little rejected right now. I would take my husbands name because I like the tradition of changing your name and obviously I would be marrying him because I love him. And I've been with someone for 3 years and would love to take his name and be part of his family (and not only because it's an english name, if he had any other name I'd still take it). I'm proud to be part of my family too, and my family history on both sides because both are remarkable stories. I guess it's just hard to explain, because there are a lot of factors and a lot of reasons behind such a decision. For example, I'd be more hesitant to change my name if I were already a doctor and had established my name in my field. But I can see how I explained it came off as me rejecting my name, which I actually quite like, just not with a dr in front of it. That's probably how my dad saw it too, but he hasn't given me any chance to explain by ignoring me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 How do your parents and families feel about name change? I have a Chinese last name and I don't speak a word of Chinese (I'm only a quarter Chinese) and I can see patients who see my name expecting me to speak chinese, and I can see it being a lot less hassle to have an English name. What hassle do you mean? Even those born here who are, and look, 4/4 Chinese may not speak Chinese, or if they do, it may be a different and unintelligible dialect from what the patient speaks. Not to mention people who adopt a Chinese surname after getting married. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misskris Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 What hassle do you mean? Even those born here who are, and look, 4/4 Chinese may not speak Chinese, or if they do, it may be a different and unintelligible dialect from what the patient speaks. Not to mention people who adopt a Chinese surname after getting married. My mom adopted a chinese surname after she got married and people always are surprised that she doesn't speak chinese. She even gets questioned in airports about her passport. And I've frequently had people ask me or try to talk to me in Mandarin and they're quite surprised when I don't. I'm from a very small homogeneous place in newfoundland where my last name stands out a lot and we've always had people assume that we're entirely Chinese and speak mandarin or Cantonese at home. I guess in bigger cities it wouldn't be as big of a deal, but around here it's what people expect just because of our last name. I kind of assumed it'd be that way everywhere. But I'd be happy to find out I'm mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Hrm, probably is a regional thing. Not to make personal assumptions, but I can only see those assumptions you describe if a person actually appears primarily asian... if not, I would think about something like mixed heritage or a name acquired by marriage/adoption.. but it's probably harder for people to tell the difference if they don't have such exposure (since I know a lot of people of mixed heritage and am meeting more people with married chinese last names, it comes to mind more readily). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renin Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Hrm, probably is a regional thing. Not to make personal assumptions, but I can only see those assumptions you describe if a person actually appears primarily asian... if not, I would think about something like mixed heritage or a name acquired by marriage/adoption.. but it's probably harder for people to tell the difference if they don't have such exposure (since I know a lot of people of mixed heritage and am meeting more people with married chinese last names, it comes to mind more readily). I was in a part of the country without a lot of asians. People thought I was Russian or Greek. It was very odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarathonRunner Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Well, my maiden name was francophone, and people ALWAYS assumed I was francophone. I speak French almost-fluently (had levels of EEC when I was in the army for those who understand the public service French levels), but I absolutely hated everyone assuming I was francophone because of my maiden name. When I joined the CF, all of my documentation was originally given to me in French, because they wrongly assumed, due to my last name, that I was francophone. While my French is very good, that sort of thing I prefer to have in my mother tongue, English. So yes, people definitely assume you speak a certain language based upon your last name. I encountered it ALL the time with my francophone maiden name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardiomegaly Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 I think changing your name after marriage requires different consideration depending on what level of training you are at. If a girl gets married as a PGY3, she has already spent 2 years of clerkship and 3 years of residency known as a certain name, which carries her reputation. Or imagine practicing as a staff physician and then changing your name. To change that can cause a lot of headache, especially in smaller specialties. If a girl gets married in preclinical or earlier, I think it doesn't matter at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little_bee Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Do people really order new diplomas and everything? I've always intended to change my last name when I get married because I want the same last name as my kids. However, I do have several publications under my current name and obviously my degree is in my current name, and that sounds like a huge pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarathonRunner Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Do people really order new diplomas and everything? I've always intended to change my last name when I get married because I want the same last name as my kids. However, I do have several publications under my current name and obviously my degree is in my current name, and that sounds like a huge pain. I didn't bother ordering new diplomas. If anyone needs to know that I'm me, I provide them with my marriage certificate, which has both my maiden name and married name on it. Hasn't been a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axialpac Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 In middle eastern/arabic culture women don't change their maiden names to their husband's last name rather keep their original name all throughout. So when I get married, I won't be changing my last name either and I think that will save me unneeded hassle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor2 Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 yah i thought about changing my name to Evil, so I'd be Dr. Evil, MD !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lost__in__space Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 I kind of want to take my bf's last name because it's cooler than mine mine is really boring....(and very common) but his is a very ethnic European name and I'm sure patients will be confused when they see me and my skin color.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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