Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Whats in a Name?

Ok - so I want to know how all of my friends/family went about deciding if they should change their last name when they got married. I am sure for some of you it wasn't even much of a thought because that is what you do when you get married but did anyone else struggle with this? I am having a hard time deciding what to do. Academically (because of publications and continuity) I need to stay Katharine Ann Ball but otherwise I can be Katharine Ann Ball Ricks or Katharine Ann Ricks or whatever. Anyone else find this a hard decision or is just me? The ironic part is that for most of my life I tried to figure out a way to get rid of Ball but now I want to hold tight to it - am I just being stubborn?

Also, what is your favorite way to spell Elizabeth?

6 comments:

Donna Leavitt said...

I understand academically changing your name could cause a little confusion. However, I didn't struggle with this one. I wanted everyone to know I was now married and I wanted Brad's name. Besides, I was glad to be rid of Holloway. Sorry if I'm not much help.

asiaelizabeth said...

I am Asia Elizabeth Ball Lowe. My past is part of who and what I am but I wanted to embrace the future as well. I was excited to ADD his name. And obviously Elizabeth is my favorite spelling I think the other one looks weak.

Blarney Girl said...

Elizabeth is my favorite.

Is there a way for you to be Katharine Ann Ball Ricks, but when you publish leave off Ricks? I have tons of friends who hyphenated their names for professinal reasons. I don't think you're being stubborn. When you are a professional, changing your name can cause a lot of confusion, and maybe more so in the world of academia when you publish papers.

debra said...

At presidency meeting we were talking about this and Stacie said she kept Anderson (1st marriage) because she was a court reporter and that was what everyone knew her as. She did change it to Poland but still uses Anderson for business.

Amy R. said...

Wendy Watson Nelson goes by her professional name and married name. I agree with what others have written. Katharine Ball Ricks works well. Good luck on deciding. Elizabeth for sure.

Shelly Turpin said...

I am Michele Ball Turpin, but I had no professional identification before my marriage. I was a baby after all when I got married. We aren't helping much, are we? :)

Being a teacher and liking to buy things that are pre-printed with names on them (silly reason I know), I like traditional names and spellings. (Although just about everything can be custom printed these days.) There is nothing worse than getting a class roll and looking at it and wondering how in the world to pronounce these poor kid's names. Just my experience :)

We have a Lizabeth in our ward.

Thought these were fun: I can see you going for Liesel, but can't see you changing Rob's mind.

Other spellings of Elizabeth and similar names you might consider are:

Anelie, Anneliese, Liese, Liesel Lieslotte, Lysanne: German

Ealasaid: Scottish

Eilis, Eilish: Irish

Elisa: English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish

Elisabet, Lisbet: Scandanavian, Finnish

Elisavet: Geek

Elisheva: Jewish

Else: Danish, Norwegian, German

Liesbeth, Liesje, Lijsbeth: Dutch

Yelizaveta: Russian