After naming our first child, we chose my maternal grandfather’s name for his middle name. For the last name, I agreed to follow the tradition of using only my husband’s last name, despite his repeated checks for my certainty. Years later, with twins and feeling erased from my children’s identities, I regretted this decision. Not changing my name upon marriage, I valued maintaining my established identity. Seeing only my husband’s name on school-related items deepened my sense of exclusion. Discussing it with my husband, we decided to give our children both of our last names. Though the name change process was straightforward, helping our kids understand took time. Ultimately, I am pleased to continue my family name through them.
We initially gave our kids only my husband’s last name
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