(no subject)

[semperfiona]

I've been thinking, off and on for some years, about changing my name
legally. I'm still not sure what my parents would make of it, and I
don't know how much that matters to me, but one of the other reasons I
haven't done it is I've never figured out what my surname ought to be. I
don't feel any real connection to the one I use now, because it's my
ex-husband's name. I didn't really want to change my name when we got
married, but he seemed to have stronger feelings on the issue than I
did, so I gave in. Now I keep it mostly out of inertia; I don't want to
return to the one I was born with; it's a fine name--though I suffered a
lot of teasing as a child over it--but I'm not that person anymore, and
changing to something else was not an option at the time of the divorce.
I was told it would be a separate legal issue.

The name I've thought most about changing to is "Maple". It represents
strength, permanence, growth and nature. I once did some internet test
that assigned trees based on one's birthday, and I liked the description
it picked for me. But the word itself doesn't quite grab me for some
reason. Part of the problem is I keep thinking of Marla Maples, and
that's not an association I want in any respect.

Today I had a new thought. What about "Semper"?

Comments

[ohari.livejournal.com]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
*pounce, tickle, runaway*

I think people would assume it was an alias

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

What about the botanical name for a maple, Acer?, or the Old Norse root for it, mopurr?

[harlequinaide.livejournal.com]

As you know, I fully support changing one's name to something personally meaningful.

How about just Fiona? Like Cher, but cooler.

[semperfiona]

That would be way cool. Except that as a computer geek, I'm acutely aware of the annoyances of computer database designs. I would end up as FIONA NLN or some other equally stupid substitute because "the last name field is required".

PS LOVE THE ICON!

[harlequinaide.livejournal.com]

Barimen? ;-)

And thank you!

Post-postscript

[semperfiona]

Did you and tafkar change your names legally?

Re: Post-postscript

[harlequinaide.livejournal.com]

Yep. Although I kept the long forms of my first and middle name, technically.

[gasslight.livejournal.com]

Yes. I like it. Although I think dakiwiboid is onto something as well.

Running with Kiwi's idea

[mousefeathers.livejournal.com]

Put "maple" or "maple tree" (or any phrase using "maple") through a language translator; you could pick a language for which you have an affinity, or just one that sounds best when you say it to yourself.

[bbwoof.livejournal.com]

Fiona Rebecca Semper?

I like it. But it will be very hard to fit into double-dactyls.

[beckyzoole.livejournal.com]

Just one caveat: you might want to wait until Rosa is 12 or so. An acquaintance (one of my daughter's teachers) recently changed her last name from her maiden name back to her old married name, so it would be the same as that of her children. This is because when her small son strayed off and got lost at the airport, security would not let her retrieve him or even touch him (even though he was crying for her) because they had different last names and therefore "how did they know she was really his mother?" It took a nightmarish half hour to convince them.

[semperfiona]

Are people really that stupid? They've never heard of divorces, remarriages, adoptions, unwed mothers or widows? If sharing a name is sufficient evidence that people are related, I pity anyone with a common name (which my current one is, everywhere from Texas on south

I'm still only thinking about it, too.

[lavendargrrl.livejournal.com]

I too think renaming is a good thing...tammyg did mention to me once that she kept her current last name in order to bolster family identity with her daughter - I guess I think that's a valid consideration...I love you