Surnames!

[danne-gerous.livejournal.com]

I know this is my 2nd post today, but please forgive me...

My brother and I have decided to change our surname.  I don't want to get long and mushy here, but the background of this decision is that we have no connection to our father.  He left when we were babies and we've never met him.  In an attempt to get to know him when I was a senior in high school, we spoke on the phone and briefly conversed over e-mail and I quickly discovered he wasn't the kind of person I wanted to have as a part of my life.  So here I am, 23 years old, and it's almost like my name is a burden.  We bear the name of a family we aren't a part of.  We are our own family and we want to change our name to reflect our family.  I hope to adopt someday and I don't want my children to have his name. 

So, we are changing our surname but have no idea where to start.  If you have any suggestions for surnames or know any resources for researching surnames, I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

Oh, my name is Malory Danne and my brother is Paul Anthony.

EDIT: My mother's maiden name is Paul and my brother was named in honor of her family name.  Pretty sure he won't go for changing his name to Paul Paul, lol.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

What about taking your mother's name (does she have a maiden name or is she married?). I would love to continue a family name like my mother's maiden name!

[danne-gerous.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I'll edit that in. My mom's maiden name is Paul and she named my brother in honor of her family name.

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

Oh! Well that's out of the picture then. XD

Hmmm, I'm no good with surnames but do have any particular Nationality that you want to honor? That could be a good start.

[danne-gerous.livejournal.com]

We are garden variety white people, lol. There's a link someone posted below that I'm gonna check out cause I would like it to mean something. Thanks!

[duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com]

The first thing I would consider is: would you take your mother's maiden name or a name from her family tree? If you are closer to her (I'm assuming she's the one who raised you), it might be a nice way of showing her respect. If you don't want to go that route, I suggest starting at:

http://surnames.behindthename.com/

[danne-gerous.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I forgot to edit that in. My brother is named after my mom's maiden name, so that option is out. Thanks for the link!

[duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com]

Yeah I commented before the edit. I still think it would be cool if you check out other names on her family tree. Perhaps your grandmother's maiden name like is mentioned below or even further back if you know that far.

[danne-gerous.livejournal.com]

I may look into that. I don't know, I kinda want something for our family... I have no idea if that makes any sense, but names are so defining and since we've lived this long being defined by a name we couldn't relate to, we want something individualistic for ourselves. I'll definitely be checking out that link, thanks!

[miss-tee.livejournal.com]

since your brother's name is already your mom's maiden name what about using your maternal grandmother's maiden name?

[a-tergo-lupi.livejournal.com]

This. Mom has two family names, presumably.

[danne-gerous.livejournal.com]

Thanks, it's something to think about. I'm not sure it's right for us... I don't know if I'm articulating this properly, but I commented above: "I have no idea if that makes any sense, but names are so defining and since we've lived this long being defined by a name we couldn't relate to, we want something individualistic for ourselves."

Thanks for commenting! I'm definitely gonna think about it.

[lind-saay.livejournal.com]

Are you close with your grandmother or great-grandmother? I know using your mother's last name is out because it's your brother's first name, but maybe you could use one of those names?

[hwar.livejournal.com]

When my husband and I were considering this move (he is in the same situation as you with the absent father) we considered the names of literary characters, historical figures, and other famous people, as well as names in our own family trees (his mother's maiden name was a major contender). We ended up narrowing it down to some chess players my husband particularly admired: Capablanca, Anand, etc. In the end we didn't change it. Someone else I know changed her last name after her second or third divorce...she looked at nouns and eventually settled on Star.

[hwar.livejournal.com]

Another thought is to take a medieval approach to surnames and use the place you're from or the location of your childhood home (Underwood, Overhill, Forest, Lane, Church, etc) or some physical characteristic you share, or your profession (or your family's historical profession). You could even take the surname of someone who was a father figure to you growing up.

[danne-gerous.livejournal.com]

Those are all really great suggestion that I hadn't even thought of, thanks!

[pleasure-past.livejournal.com]

Things I would consider if I were in your shoes:

1. Physical feature names: Is there any physical feature you and your brother share? If you both have red hair, for example, you might go with Reed or something.

2. Character names: Are there any stories or characters that you and your brother both love now or loved when you were children? Do the characters have names that aren't too ridiculous or obvious to take? If you're both life-long Harry Potter fans, for example, you might want to think about Potter. This could also work for historical figures you really admire.

3. Nature: This could be anything from natural features you live around (Wood, for example) or animals you like (Wolf, Bear, etc.) or anything of that sort.

That's all I can think of now. Just be careful that the name you choose isn't totally off for your race. Like, don't give yourself a last name like Chan if you're Irish.

[danne-gerous.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! Those are really great ideas.

[bonobaby.livejournal.com]

Why don't you and your brother find a meaning that you think fits the both of you, be it strength, beauty, whatever, then go to some websites and see what names may mean them... find maybe a nationality in your genealogy you really connect with and go from there.

If it was me, I'd pick something Irish. lol.

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

A couple of places to browse...

1000 Most Common Surnames in the USA (http://names.mongabay.com/most_common_surnames.htm) (the ones from 700 to 1000 might be good, they'd be a little less common but not too rare to blend in :)

Surname database (http://www.surnamedb.com/) ...if you have an idea of what sound you like, it will make browsing easier. For instance, if you liked the sound of Raven but wanted something a little different, the index can offer you a heap of names like Ravenscroft, Ravenshaw, Ravillas, Ravel etc...

[rubie-dubidoux.livejournal.com]

Change it to something awesome. Like Hurricane or Snowbright or Birdsong.