a million times. I faced a rude awakening in my last relationship when I broached the notion that if I was going to give birth to a child it would have my name. I am not with him anymore.

Um, you sound like you were looking for a fight

I'm reading a webcomic with a matriarchal society, and it did indeed reflect the idea that turnabout is fair play, in that it amounts to a game of hot potato with inequality.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one in the lazy camp. It's been over a year and we haven't even had our marriage license recorded in our county so we're pretty much just common law married in our state. I finally changed my last name on facebook to see how I felt about it, and that's as far as I've gotten. And every time…

I might have slightly pissed my husband off years ago when I told him that since I will be gestating the fetus and breastfeeding it, all names will get final approval through me, and that I won't name a kid something I don't actually like for the sake of "tradition" or being polite. He gets it, but still. Tough pill…

I kept my surname as well, and I am definitely silently judged for it by my husband's family. He had to work through some of his own issues in terms of what makes a family—to him keeping my last name was some kind of sign that I am not committed to the relationship. But honestly? I find changing names only bc you're…

Once a man and I discussed merging our names, were we to marry. People could all do that. So Latoya Smith and Jim Jones would both change their lasts to Smones or Jonith when they married and give that name to the kids.

I once had an elderly customer whose last name was Nimrod. I'm sure that keeping your maiden name back when she got married was just not a thing. But I would have had to strongly contemplate whether I could take that name...

There was a bit of confusion recently because my nephew has our family name, not his fathers - being that his father hasn't been involved in his life at all until the past year, and his family has kept contact, but it's mostly phone and holiday gifts. I didn't question it, his mum and my family has been the one that's…

There's an old saying: mama's baby, papa's maybe.

I've thought, more than once, of taking my grandmother's maiden name. Of any of my blood relatives, she's the only one I've ever really felt a strong attachment to.

Fellowology and I were given that treatment when I cut my hair last year. How nice of him for letting me, everyone said.

There is actual scholarship on this topic. At least when I was in college the consensus was that this practice was introduced to show paternity. Women KNOW they're the parent. Men can never be sure so we introduce societal practices to reassure them — namely giving the offspring the father's name and, oddly enough, it…

I did too. I basically got married because I wanted us all to have the same name. I got tired of people either assuming that my partner wasn't the father of my kids, or just calling me Mrs....... anyway. Also my maiden name was long, ugly and impossible to spell. My married name is incredibly common and I love it!

I sound mad for telling you no one (and I'm a someone) would ever suggest you do anything but what you want? And then for explaining I could not make the choice you made partly because it would be very bad for my career?

This is a conversation I regret not having with my husband before Cheeze Slice was born. I hadn't really gotten into the feminist perspective as much, and thus went along with the status quo. I still haven't changed my name, though. First, out of laziness, and now out of principle.

I always tell people that I let my husband keep his maiden name.

But men own all the names! Didn't you get the memo?

I prefer for my family to all have the same last name. I don't mind changing my last name to my husband last name.

That's for mansplaining what we should wear to impress the mens. We care a lot about what makes your boner sad.