Should I change my name?

Re: Should I change my name?

Mary Thomson — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:14:05 GMT

I use my maiden name for work, married name for most other stuff (although it did take me years to get around to changing passport etc).

On the other subject of amusing names- we have a client Mrs Willy who has a rabbit called Floppy! She hadn't even realised he had an amusing name!!

Re: Should I change my name?

sophia guymer — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:09:36 GMT

Took my husbands name, I too was going to stick with my maiden name for work but it just got too confusing.

We had a mrs howes as client, but she was there so often (mad g. pig lady) we called her by her first name: Wendy! (I am dutch, didn't know what a wendy house is when I first came here, so happily shouted for Wendy Howes without any shame )

Re: Should I change my name?

morag young — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:44:35 GMT

Hi there,this is my first time on the forum too, I was feeling brave this morning! I got married just over a year ago and had a similar debate. I changed everything personally straight away and pondered for a few weeks whether to change my name professionally. In the end I decided to change,everything else was in my married name and it felt weird to still see my maiden name on clinical records,plus to be honest everyone at work, both colleagues and clients, refers to me by my first name anyway so it really made very little difference, I just had to contact the Royal College. It maybe makes much more difference if you take referrals but I'm just a common garden GP.I guess if you stay with your maiden name you would be a Ms?

Re: Should I change my name?

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:18:59 GMT

I had a client who started calling me Carol instead of Clare during a euthanasia consult. I didnt correct her as she was so upset and she called me Carol for a further ten years.

Re: Should I change my name?

Richard Allport — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:26:56 GMT

I know this is getting rather away from original name topic, but I dd want to share my exerience of my name as seen by my gas supplier. My practice is called the Natural Medicine Centre, so I guess their computer was trained to see the last word of a title as the surname and I shouldn't have been surprised to receive a letter that began 'Dear Mr Centre'

Sad person that I am, I rang and explained that if they looked at my letterhead they would perhaps understand that I did have a real name and I would like to be addressed by it. They were very apologetic and I did receive a letter to say so. It began 'Dear Mr MRCVS'

Re: Should I change my name?

jd2008 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:26:55 GMT

I was going through a list of clients pulled off our computer system a few months back. Came across a Mr McCrack with a dog called Phil. Methinks someone was taking the mick.....

Re: Should I change my name?

Ian Mostyn — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:17:04 GMT

I had a client called Mrs Herring with her Irish Setter, Red. At the time she named her dog, she hadn't realised his full name!

Ian

Re: Should I change my name?

Gillian Mostyn — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:56:46 GMT

A vet who used to practice in my town was called Peter Nutt. His wife was called Hazel. Good eh?

Re: Should I change my name?

Richard Allport — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:13:37 GMT

On the subject of names, but this time names of clients rather than vets, I have a client called Miss Plum ....and her first name really is .............. Victoria. I also used to have a client called Miss Hite, first name Karen. She told me once that her parents were going to call her Sharon, until they looked at the combination of the initial and the surname .....

Richard

Re: Should I change my name?

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:20:58 GMT

I was very reluctant to lose my maiden name as it was half the official practice name but then didnt want to confuse my children when they arrived. Outside work, on passport etc I am just Clare Wright . Havent had a problem with banks etc but I wouldnt link them again. If I were to decide now I would just keep my maiden name for work and married name otherwise.

Clare

Re: Should I change my name?

Vikki Halliday LLB — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:28:37 GMT

[quote user="Helen Moss"]

oops - 3 week honeymoon not 3 months. Talking and typing at once was not a good idea

[/quote]

Was going to say that with a 3 month honeymoon, your working hours should be in the thread on work-life balance!

Have a wonderful time! I'm jealous......... my honeymoon was only 1 week long

Re: Should I change my name?

Helen Bowes — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:28:50 GMT

oops - 3 week honeymoon not 3 months. Talking and typing at once was not a good idea

Re: Should I change my name?

Helen Bowes — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:28:10 GMT

I also get married in May and am taking my fiances surname

Again for personal reasons I don't want to keep my maiden name. Plus most of my clients already know that I will be getting married - partly as I am going on honeymoon for 3 months and am having to work out blood sampling monitor dates etc already.

Really don't think name changing is a huge issue

Re: Should I change my name?

Clive Ansell — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:27:40 GMT

[quote user="Rob Reid"]

Now what she gets is : Reid, yes that's R-E-I-D, no not with 2 Es (common south of England mistake), no not E-A (common Welsh mistake) etc

[/quote]

How can that be? Wales is a society devoid of vowels, A,E,I,O,U are just not in their alphabet -all L's and Y's

Re: Should I change my name?

Rob Reid — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:49:02 GMT

The other thing you should consider is how easy your surname is to spell, can play havoc when making appointments, bookings etc....

You wouldn't think it but my other half has gone from frying pan to fire when changing her surname. Before it was Ayre, so she would ring up and say surname's Ayre, yes that's A-Y-R-E, no not with an E, no,not with an I etc

Now what she gets is : Reid, yes that's R-E-I-D, no not with 2 Es (common south of England mistake), no not E-A (common Welsh mistake) etc

Re: Should I change my name?

Michael Woodhouse — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:52:45 GMT

Never checked none-practising. Too cold upstairs.

Shame it doesn't show maiden names on RCVS site - save my legs........

Re: Should I change my name?

Vikki Halliday LLB — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:49:22 GMT

[quote user="kate johns"] By the way Vikki your maiden name really isn't that bad - yes I had to look it up too!![/quote]

Yes it was when I was a kid, and thanks, you and 4000 other members!

Oh well if it made you all use up some of your underpaid, overworked and generally mind-boggling Tuesday afternoons, and provided amusement, well I'm at your service ladies and gentlemen......................

Re: Should I change my name?

Vikki Halliday LLB — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:46:17 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]

I too had to check the register, just to see!

[/quote]

And were you laughing at mine or the one on the non-practising register?

Re: Should I change my name?

Michael Woodhouse — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:44:53 GMT

I too had to check the register, just to see!

Re: Should I change my name?

Vikki Halliday LLB — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:23:54 GMT

[quote user="Robert Whiteford"]

The same way that everyone will be trying to find out the new name of Jon Venables (well not exactly in the same way).

[/quote]

I should bl**dy hope not! I may now be famous, but hopefully not infamous........

Re: Should I change my name?

jd2008 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:01:11 GMT

I'm about to face exactly the same situation. I get married in May. I think because I'm getting hitched relatively late (38years old) the thought of changing my surname is particularly daunting. Now, you can imagine the jokes that have been made about my name over the years but I'm rather fond of it and will certainly keep it in a professional capacity - I'll be Mrs Dunnett ( I absolutely abhor "Ms") For some reason I quite like being the only Dunnett in the register.

I did suggest to my intended that there was no reason why he couldn't take my name but he went all caveman on me and that was the end of that idea

Jane

Re: Should I change my name?

salome2001 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:41:15 GMT

Evelyn, may I please clarify that I loathe artificially double-barrelled surnames, for exactly the reason you propose. No offence to those born into them

Re: Should I change my name?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:22:37 GMT

[quote user="salome2001"]great consternation in Germany when I tried joining a hotel rewards scheme and they only had two options of "Fraulein" (Miss) or "Frau" (Mrs).[/quote]

You would be an honorary Frau anyway I think. Fraülein would be a little demeaning or patronising.

[quote user="salome2001"](Personally, I loathe double-barrelled surnames but that's purely a personal opinion!!!)[/quote]

Love

I do hate this trendy habit of hyphenating surnames when people get married though. Did that start in America? What are they going to do when the children get married, and then the grandchildren? The names are going to lengthen exponentially.

Re: Should I change my name?

kate johns — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:01:52 GMT

Thanks for the input guys, although I think we got a little sidetracked! By the way Vikki your maiden name really isn't that bad - yes I had to look it up too!!

I think the general consensus seems to be maiden name (with Ms as title) for work and married name for everything else.

Food for thought....

Re: Should I change my name?

Alex Gough — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:46:05 GMT

Well I had to go and look too. But at least women have the option to change, some men would love to. Apropos of nothing, I see Everard Cock is no longer on the Members list.