“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
          By any other name would smell as sweet”
The ultimate question that a non-British girl must face when getting married in the UK is: To change or not to change her name.
I still have no idea what I’ll do. The problem is that I never had any type of mental preparation for this. What I mean is that British girls KNOW that eventually they will change their name to their husband’s when they marry. They spend their whole teenage life imagining what their name would sound like if they married one boy or another: “Mmm.. Mrs. Susan Fitzgerald sounds SO much better than Mrs. Susan Smith!” So when they actuallt have to dispose of their family name, they have no problems whatsoever.
On the other hand, Spanish people don’t have that tradition of changing your family name. The name you’re given at birth will be yours until you die. So I’ve had 30 years of my life to get very attached to my surnames. I’ve been Maria La Chica for such a long time that calling myself anything other than that sounds strange!
But then I think: what’s in a name? It’s not the name that matters but who you are. I am going to be the same person whatever the surname: La Chica or Payne. To be honest, one of the most important reasons why I am a bit reluctant to change the surname is because of the burocratic nightmare it could become. But I assume that there are procedures in place in the Spanish Embassy, as I don’t think I am the first Spaniard to marry a Briton!
Now that we’ve got a date for the wedding (06.06.09) I am going to have to set myself an ultimatum, a date by which I must have decided what I’ll do. I think Christmas is a good time, plus I’ll have the chance to tell my family my decision!
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Hello,
There’s no reason that you “have to” change your last name is there? If not, you could always keep your name as it is. Or you could still follow the Spanish tradition and Drop Dominguez, but keep La Chica: Maria Jose La Chica Payne. You could keep Dominguez too if you really wanted and just tack on your husband’s last name at the end: Maria Jose La Chica Dominguez Payne.
Whatever you decide, I wish you the best for your wedding.
Hi again, many thanks for the comment!
Unfortunately, Spanish law doesn’t let me change my name under any circumstances, but Britsh law does. If I decided to take my husband’s name in Britain, then proving my identity would be chaos as my Spanish passport would have my Spanish name on it and wouldn’t tie up with my husband’s surname!!
