Why would a divorced woman use her middle name as her new last name?

Question

Curiosity killed the cat but I was born curious so I'll ask a question about something that I've never heard of happening before. A woman has a maiden name, divorces, remarries, divorces and now has decided to use her middle name as her new last name. Surprised she didn't reclaim her maiden name and wondering if other women use their middle names as their surname after divorce?

Thank you.

Answer 1

New to me too. Maybe she just wants a completely new identity.

Answer 2

Probably just because she wanted to.



Here's my name history.

GoofyFirstName NormalMiddleName UnpronounceableMaidenName



I've always gone by NormalMiddleName but always have to fill out forms with GoofyFirstName, so that's my "official" name and #1 I hate it and #2 most people mispronounce it.



With my first marriage, I became:

GoofyFirstName NormalMiddleName NormalLastName.



Divorced, and I went back to

GoofyFirstName NormalMiddleName UnpronounceableMaidenName



Second marriage, I became:

GoofyFirstName NormalMiddleName FrenchLastName



Had a child. Got divorced. Got the idea in my head that my son would be "confused" if he grew up with a different last name than me, and I didn't want to go back to the UnpronounceableMaidenName anyway, so I kept the FrenchLastName for about ten years.



More and more, I hated being linked to the exhusband and all the b*llsh*t he insisted on perpetuating on me and my son. After thinking about it long and hard, I went to court to change my name to:



NormalMiddle(NowFirst)Name Initial NormalAndRandomLastName.



I picked my own last name at random, based on what was easy to spell and pronounce, sounded good with my first name (which had been my middle name, but has always been the name I've used), and wasn't too unusual or "freaky." It has no meaning or significance other that it's easy and normal and has no unpleasant emotional baggage.



My GoofyFirstName was a combination name given to me in honor of both of my deceased grandmothers, and although I hate it, I didn't want to *totally* break my parents' hearts, so I selected the *initial* of GoofyFirstName as my new middle name.



As far as my parents and other relatives know, I just flipped the names so that my actual name, the name I go by, is now my legal first name. I'm 40, so it's not that I particularly feel the need to hide it, I just don't want to unnecessarily upset them by letting them know that their mothers' names have been abandoned.



At the same time, my relationship with them is strained enough that I don't feel any connection to them, and don't feel that their last name is in any way part of my identity, as my NowFirstName is. Even if my maiden name had been something vanilla like "Jones" I would still have chosen my own last name.



SO, here you have an example of emotional issues, independence and person-hood issues, and convenience/practicality. Any of those, all of those, or something completely different could be the reason for your acquaintance's choice.

Answer 3

Maybe with all her marriages and divorces, she just wants to be done with the past and start her new life without all the old baggage that her past names come with.



Maybe she doesn't like her maiden name.



When I divorced I didn't want to go through life with my ex-husband's last name, but I didn't like my maiden name either. Lol So I just kept my married name, because that was also my child's last name.



What I should have done, was have my last name changed to my grandmother's maiden name, which is a pretty nice name. Too bad I didn't think about that when I was getting a divorce. I'll have to remember that the next time : )

Answer 4

That sounds odd but the only thing I can guess is that she had issues with her father? That's the only reason I can figure that she would not want to go back to her maiden name.



Or as others said maybe she just didn't like the sound of her maiden name. I'm not divorced, but on the brink of it...



Something I ponder is what I'll do about the last name. We have no children so I wouldn't need it for kids my only thing is that I graduated college with that name plus the whole headache of having to change the last name on everything.

Answer 5

First time I have heard of that, maybe she doesn't like her maiden surname, nor her ex's surname. When I divorced I kept my married surname for the children's sake, this way they have the same surname as you and know they belong. The other reason for keeping my ex's surname was because I had a lot of certificates and awards with that name on them. Hope this has helped in some way.

Answer 6

Never heard of that before. Like the others said, probably a "new start"...I know I wouldn't want to revert to my maiden name..I don't think too positively of it and think of the family members that ties to the name.

Answer 7

Maybe because that was the old her, and she doesn't want to go back to the person she was before she was married, but she also doesn't want to keep the identity of the marriage, she wants a new life. New life, new name.

Better than keeping her married name!

My Dad's ex wife, who was only married to him for 7 years kept our family last name and still has it 40 years later. I find that very disrespectful to our family and to our mother who has been married to my Dad for 25 years.

Answer 8

Perhaps she doesnt like her maiden name, so doesnt want to change back, and doesnt want to keep her married name either. Middle name is a good choice, name her parents gave her, and hers for life.

Answer 9

RE: while a girl differences her call after marriage, does her former final call substitute into her midsection call ? Or does she shop her midsection call and discard her former final call ? of course human beings (that fluctuate their final call to their husband's) do the two, I'm in simple terms curious as to which one is greater elementary.

Answer 10

She's feeling very 'free' and 'liberated' so is exercising her option to do whatever she fancies. Using the middle name is a change but it also is a part of her and her family (parents gave it to her). She's feeling good!!!

Answer 11

It makes it harder to find her in the phone book and possibly other records as well. Does she have something to hide? Or someone to hide from?

Answer 12

A friend of mine did that too

Weird