Surname Change

[cosmos-calling.livejournal.com]

I am going to be changing my surname after my divorce is finalized. I want to choose something completely new to me, as in, not even a "family name".

Do you know any awesome last names?
Do you have any suggestions?
What would you change your surname to, if you could change it right now?

ETA: I have settled on Phoenix as my new future surname. :) Highly symbolic in many ways for me.

Comments

[ivegotbaggage.livejournal.com]

I've been toying around with the idea of changing mine. I would either use my grandmother's maiden name, Sullivan, or trace things back a bit farther, and use my great-x6 grandfather's name, O'Callaghan.

[hardtogetover.livejournal.com]

I recently watched "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and I love the last name Dark. Also, my husband had a client named Brian Deathrage so of course we're in love with that name, too.

[waitingonsunday.livejournal.com]

Aw, I love that movie. I agree, Dark would be a cool last name. And Nightshade's pretty awesome, too, though I can't imagine anyone using it in real life.

[bandnerd88.livejournal.com]

There was a guy at my high school with the last name Lonefight. Always thought that was neat. :D

My personal favorite last name is Murgatroyd. Might be a bit much IRL, but I use it on my Sims all the time.

[waitingonsunday.livejournal.com]

I always thought Kate Maberly had such a cool surname. I loved it so much, I used it as a screenname when I was younger.

I wouldn't! I love my last name, which is Coin.

[skittles22088.livejournal.com]

I also have a (quite long lol) list of the last names I like:
Alexander
Andrews
Archer
Avery
Bailey
Barrett
Barron
Beck
Bennett
Bentley
Black
Bowman
Brady
Brennan
Briggs
Campbell
Cannon
Casey
Copeland
Cordova
Crane
Dalton
Dawson - my number two boy name
Donovan
Drake
Dunbar
Dunn
Edwards
Elliott
Espinoza
Finley
Fox
Frasier
Frederick
Frost
Gates
Glenn
Golden
Gray
Griffin
Harper
Hart
Hayden
Henry
Holloway
Hunter
Jennings
Kane
Keller
Kessler - my favorite
Key
King
Knight - my second favorite
Lockhart
Logan
Lucas
Maddox
Madison
Marks - this would be after my dad Mark
McCormick
McKenzie
Meadows
Medina
Mercado
Merritt
Miles
Morgan
Noble
Oakes - my maiden name
Palmer
Payne
Powers
Prince
Raeder - my married name
Ramsey
Rhodes - my parents are originally from Rhode Island
Riley
Rivers
Rose
Ryan
Salazar - this just sounds awesome to me
Sanders
Santiago
Sawyer - my number one boy name
Scott - after my brother
Snow
Sparks
Steele
Stokes
Stone
Sullivan
Summers
Sutton
Taylor
Tyler - after my nephew
Valentine
Valenzuela
Vega
Victorino
Walker
West
Winters
Wolfe
Wyatt - my number three boy name

[cosmos-calling.livejournal.com]

The first one you listed, "Alexander", was my maiden name. I actually really like the name, just not the associations with my father. You also have my mother-in-law's current married name "Bennett".

Thanks for this list, though, there are some I really like. Especially Winters, Snow, Steele, Sparks, and West.

[ohhowlovely.livejournal.com]

my last name is Powers :D

[cosmos-calling.livejournal.com]

Max Powers does sound pretty awesome. Like Max Payne, you know. Just badass. :)

[thellamaqueen.livejournal.com]

I have always wished I could change mine, and thought that getting married would alleviate that... and then I got married to a man who's last name I don't really like! lol.

I always wished I had a more common last name, for some unexplainable reason since I have a strong distaste for common first names. :P i always wished for something simple like Anderson, Jones, West, etc.

[roseofjuly.livejournal.com]

Ick, I'm the opposite. My last name is Boone and when I get married, it'll be Brown. Both are terribly common and I wish I was getting a fancier last name. Part of the reason is because I'm studying for a Ph.D, so I'll spend my career being identified by my last name, and I wish it was something distinctive.

[kaoriz.livejournal.com]

If it couldn't be a family name, I'd probably choose something that's subtly linked to something I liked. Like maybe Austen or something from history like Boleyn, except that's already extremely close to my surname.

[cosmos-calling.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to find a name that is personally significant to me in some way, but not necessarily a real life person's last name. I read a lot, so I have started keeping my eyes open for a potential surname.

[harvestlunacorn.livejournal.com]

I use the name McShme. My friend's and I came up with the name in high school and it's just stuck with me. But then just like my real name people can't spell or pronounce it, so I'd probably go with something easier. If I ever marry my boyfriend I'd gladly take his surname, it's Casto. Nice and easy.

[ex-alyssum521.livejournal.com]

I do think it is a good idea that you try to find something personally significant, like you said above. If not a family name, then maybe a name from the culture you most identify with, if you have one?

I like my last name because it sounds cool and is very Finnish, so I feel more ~*~unique~*~ than I would if I had a common American last name, lol. But if I was going to change it I would probably want something silly/badass, like... Crimefighter.

[kkleigha87.livejournal.com]

If I changed my last name Mclovin would always number 1 in my book lol. On a more serious note, I love Italian last names such as Soprano, Copolla, DiGregrio,DeNiro, ect.

[roseofjuly.livejournal.com]

LOL @ McLovin

[blinding-rays.livejournal.com]

I like the surname Fontaine. So powerful! hahah, it may be a little much though.

[rubie-dubidoux.livejournal.com]

Hurricane
Snow or Frost or Blizzard
a country, like Ukraine or Norway or Djibouti
a color, like Indigo or Scarlet or Chartreuse
an animal, like Python or Egret or Caribou

My personal favorite is still Hurricane. It's so badass.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

i think possibly going waaaaaaay back to find a last name is a great idea.

i just got married so i just (happily) changed my last name, but personally, when i was younger, i almost changed mine to my mothers maiden name, which is gray. i also pondered using my great great grandmothers maiden name, which was jorgensen.

my suggestion is to find something that fits your heritage / ethnicity or the one you feel closest to, and most importantly, that just feels right! :)

[skudge.livejournal.com]

I know a guy whose last name is Lightfoot and I think that is the coolest thing ever.
If I could change my surname, I would probably go with Swift.

[satunian.livejournal.com]

Marmaduke! XD

[roseofjuly.livejournal.com]

Doonesbury XD

[babyjess8.livejournal.com]

Some suggestions:
Calhoun
Dawson
Reilly
Robinson
Kennedy

[zante.livejournal.com]

My surname is Wild :)

It's awesome enough in itself that I wouldn't need to change it..

But my to-be-married surname will be Evans.. if my fiance says no to turning Wild himself....

[polly-purebred.livejournal.com]

There are some great last names out there. Personally, if I ever changed mine, I would probably find something from my family history or my ethnic roots. My great-grandparents on both sides were immigrants from Italy and Czechoslovakia.

I work in a hospital so I see lots of names. I always liked Grey/Gray. One of my friends loves the last name Jensen for some reason. I always just think of the speakers. Abernathy sounds cool. I wouldn't use anything really 'out there' because then it's pretty obvious that you named yourself and that can be lame.

[polly-purebred.livejournal.com]

Oh, I just thought of my favorite last name - Moriarty. I'd like that for myself. Courtney Moriarty. Nice!

Of course, I would want a last name that I wouldn't have to spell. I always had to spell out my maiden name and now I have to spell out my married name. It's a pain in the ass so take that into consideration. =)

A few last names from my facebook friend list just for kicks. I'll put a start next to the ones I like:

Kirtland
Talarico
Harris
Stevenson*
Brill
Cooper
Akers
Whitmore*
Lesher
Kirby
Sloan*
Davis
Burton*
Casil
Kitova*
Murray
Bradley
Drayer
Northwick*
LeBlanc
Lake*
Limoge
Buxton*
Redcay
Dougherty
Kratz
McDade*
Bowman
Stamm
Frank
Keller
McConnell
Quinn*
Weiss
Yates
Randall
Reed*
Hershey
Perry
DeWitt*
Salisbury
King
Kingman
Bretz
Carron
Roth
Sims
Murphy
Bastian**
Cross*
Peoples

[mossmade.livejournal.com]

One man I know had an abusive father. He now goes by his mother's maiden name and he passed the same surname along to his young son.

And I know a woman whose mother changed her name every time Mom remarried. When she moved out, she decided to change it to a "created name" that is uniquely hers.

Choose something you will take pride in every time you see or hear it.

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

I've always been weirdly partial to Silvestri, strange because I have no Italian ancestry at all. I also really like Evans and Jacobson.

I think you should choose something that means something to you even if it's not a family name. Something that symbolizes your fresh start. Novak, for instance, means "the new one." Or you could take the last name of someone you admire, or even a fictional character you identify with.

[cremepuff.livejournal.com]

Here's some suggestions from my Facebook, too:

Chappelle (that's mine!)
McCullough
McGrain
Stiles
Wade
Campbell
Reedy
Fournelle
Huttel
Mulford
Snodgrass (has a Facebook group dedicated to the awesomeness of his last name, no lie)
Moran
Roccasalva
Richards
Bertrand
Chaisson
Reynolds
St. Aubin
Carter
Cox
LePere
Nix
Ramos
Lendi
Penney
Russell
Bruno
McKim
Krilich
Gill
Stanford
Pulley
Dobbelhoff
Robins
Walker
Knapp
Duffee
Leverence
Witt
Becker
Ravinera
Squires
Lindley
Wilken
Baker
Healy
Spathis
Tremonti
Sweeney
Stillman
Prefontaine
Lindahl

[polly-purebred.livejournal.com]

I like Nix...as in, I'm nixing my ex's name! LOL!

[roseofjuly.livejournal.com]

I ponder about this on a regular basis, because I'm getting my Ph.D and will spend the majority of my career and adult life being known as "Dr. ___" and having my last name identify me in scientific journals.

I wish it were something cool and unique. Right now it's Boone and when I'm married, it'll be Brown, neither of which are cool and unique (or sound awesome with Dr.)

I think a two- or three-syllable surname starting with M would be badass, like Micheli or McArthur, because my first name is Melissa and I like the alliteration and the flow.