Chris and I almost came to blows today on a subject that’s been plaguing us since we started this trip: our future last name. Ever since Chris’s dad gave us the a-okay on leaving the Hodges surname behind, we’ve been contemplating future family names that range from the standard to the hippie-tastic. We’ve narrowed our short list down to just short of six million possibilities, so clearly we’re close to making the final decision.
Because of this indecisiveness, we decided to turn to John, Paige, Deanna, and Mike, my four cousins who all share a last name that they’re very proud to own: Bleidistel. According to Deanna, there are only four hundred or so Bleidistels in the whole world, which means that when they Google stalk each other, everything shows up almost instantly. As Deanna pointed out, one of the perils in choosing our own family name is the fact that we’ll be essentially robbing our children of the fun of culling the Internet for juicy stories about our ancestors, as they are unlikely to know our maiden and bachelor names. She’s got a point, as you definitely shake up the genealogy tree when you decide to plant your own instead of adding a new branch.
But Chris and I are pretty sure that we want to forge our own path, so we turned to my cousins for some practical suggestions. All four recommended that we take on a family name from relatives of yesteryear. This is a possibility, as Chris and I have been circling one name in particular that has already had its day in the sun but is now without a home. They also suggested that we pick something that has sentimental value for the two of us. I totally agree with this, as there’s zero value in choosing a name just because it sounds good. Chris suggested that we take on Obama, but I think people just might see that as pandering to our 43rd president. I suggested Palin and was met with a stony silence in return.
Deciding on a new last name is kind of like getting a tattoo. Lots of ideas sound fun at first, but when you actually say them out loud, they are completely ridiculous. For example:
Chris: I think we should take the last name “United.”
Jaime: That sounds like a soccer team.
Chris: Ya, it would be awesome! Chris United, Jaime United. We’d be “united” by marriage.
Jaime: Why don’t we just go with “Fusion” then? Jaime Fusion, Chris Fusion, Roxy Fusion.
Chris: And that wouldn’t be obnoxious, now would it? Hi, I’d like to book a room for Chris Fusion. This is my wife Jaime Fusion.
Regardless of what we choose, we’re not telling anyone until the deed is done. After experiencing what it was like to plan a wedding, we already know what type of opinions we’ll get.
However, we are taking suggestions in the comment box below. Have at it- it’s the only chance to say what you think, so immortalize it or forever zip your mouth.
Rob- now I know why you were late to our rehearsal- you were too busy reading our blog
Hodges actually does not have a long family history- Chris’s dad is not particularly close to his family and was fine with the change.
We’re not trying to ditch “familial connections”. We are keeping our maiden and bachelor names as our legal middle names.
How about Sweeney?
If you’re going to change your name anyway, and you don’t want to hyphenate, why not just change your name to Hodges? The name itself sounds fine, likely scores high on sentimental value, and has, I imagine, a long history.
Of course, if you are looking to ditch the whole “familial connection” thing, it would be a poor choice.
Rob
Oh yes, Will- we know the drill. But think of it as just another rite of passage.
Ugh, just fyi, it’s going to be a pain in the butt for you to get the name changed if you’re not going to go with one of your own last names. At least you know a few good attorneys…
I vote for “Ford.” It would be the ultimate homage.
I’ve been giving this a lot of thought and my suggestion is “Damon.”. Why? The obvious reason is that us has a nice ring with both Jaime and Chris, you can both pretend to be related to Matt, and finally, it is nomad spelled backwards. Thought it summed up the whole Road Trip. Just my two cents.
Love you guys! Happy countdown!
Ya know – you could look at the “Hodges” name anew and not take it for what you think it does or does not stand for, but for what new amazing history you can give it. You can blaze your own trail with it, pulling it out of the last-name-ashes like a phoenix… “Phoenix” – oooh, also an idea
although Jamie Phoenix does not have much flow to it… hmmm, but Jamie Elizabeth Phoenix sounds kinda cool! sorta.
This looks like a conspiracy—my earlier email comment was not published. Perhaps it was because I said that I was surprised to see that I might not have any biological grandchildren after all. I vote with TheMom. See above.
Ooooh I wanna play! Here are my ideas:
-Parker (because you met at Delores Park)
-Cage (Case and Hodge together, sorta…nice and simple)
-Your shared heritage…for example, if you both have a little German in you, you could go with German
-Bay (because you met in the city by the Bay…and also keep in mind short names are nice and easy for kids to learn to spell in kindergarten!)
-Newman (because you’re new people through your partnership…and Newwoman doesn’t have the same ring to it)
-Pave (because you two seem to be eschewing tradition and paving your own path all along the way)
-Mas (because Chris proposed over the Christmas holiday, and this would make his name Chris Mas HA! =D)
Can’t wait to hear what you pick, you crazy cats.
Elizabeth- I agree- we will only choose something that has sentimental/personal meaning. Owen- bite me.
Hey you stole my idea- i always thought it’d be cool to pick a brand new name with someone if getting hitched. I guess great minds think alike eh? You could always give your kids, if you decide to have any, you former last names as middle names to help keep the family tree up-almost everyone’s original last names have changed through the years anyhoo. Check this out: http://www.last-names.net/ I think you should both create/pick a new one with some sentimental value. Can’t wait to find out what you decide!!
Seriously…have a little pride. Keep your names.
“Fusion” would be a great last name if you were performance artists from the 1980s.
Hoades… it’s like a mashup of Case & Hodges!
Adrienne- did you really just suggest that we should go by the name “laycock”? Heather- hyphenation is so not my game- I hate the double name thing (though fine for other people). I will definitely keep Case for writing shizat. Kindra- you’d be surprised, many people have done this. Deirdre- are you serious? Because that’s a rockin’ last name. mel- you ARE a superstar- I think we’ll go with that!
First of all, what does Chris have against Michael Palin? Brilliant comedian. Next, why not combine your names, meld them together, intersperse the letters? Seems very romantic, and the first five alone would give you the surname Chaos. Or use all of it and hyphenate–Chaos-Deges, which when said aloud sounds oddly like Hostages. Or start with one and end with the other, like Cadges or Hoes. OK, maybe not Hoes. Or how about Superstar, which when combined with your first initials would allow you to go everywhere as J.C. Superstar, which is an odd suggestion from a nice Jewish boy, eh?
Ok, I found the original post. I get it. Like it. Love it. Can’t wait to hear what you agree on.
If I get married to my current dude – I’ll become an Abiodun. I’ve already decided I’ll take the last name of my mate. Am I suggesting you become an Abiodun? No. But you could try Boroujeni, Ippolito, or perhaps Laycock. Why these names? Um, just a few last names from my cell phone. That’s all I got.
my opinion: as a writer, having written things as Case, you might want to keep Case in there somewhere, or at least still write under Case. Legally, I dropped Gordon entirely from my name (when you can go for the HRH initials, you must), but for writing purposes, on my resume, etc, I keep the Gordon in there because I published so much under my maiden. Maiden head that is.
My two cents: you should both just hyphenate, but that’s prob too boring for y’alls.
how about: Kerouac = Road Trip
Did I miss part 1? WHY are you doing this? I am not asking in horror,or in any way looking down on it, I’m just so very curious. I have never heard of any one doing this…and I am wondering what both sets of parents (and grandparents for that matter) thought!
I still vote for Coulter! GOOOooooOOOO! COULTER!