Hyphenating a last name is not only limited to African American women. Many women chose to hyphenate their last name for many reasons including for professional and personal reasons.
Yes. Without a clear sign that they form a compound last name, the first one will be taken for a traditional middle name.
After you get married, the choice to take your husbands name, keep yours, or even use a hyphen in between the two is something you must consider. If you do choose to take on his name, or hyphenate, you will need to fill out a paper stating you are one and the same.
Yes, they can. However, it is a somewhat more common practice in the United Kingdom than in the United States.
Victor
Tradition.
Well, no not really. you could hyphenate it but it would look silly and MS word would put those little red lines under it, which indicates an error. :) This is because the rule of hyphenation is used more commonly with numbers. For instance: Twenty-two vs Twenty two. The exception to this rule appears usually in surnames(last names) For instance: my last name is "Campbell-Gray". My mother chose this for me because she was not married to my father yet she wanted me to carry both her last name and his for life.
That is entirely up to you. Some women retain their maiden names without a hyphen, like Hillary Rodham Clinton.
no relation not married the last names are the same but no ties
Yes. I am a child and I have both parents last names -(thru divorce). Just file a name change form at your county court. Examples- Mary Anne Jones becomes Mary Anne smith-Jones. For my name example- Michael Noah Wilson-Jones
When asked if she ever thought about changing her last name Kate Gosselin Tweeted: "Not for a split second. Never will. Will possibly hyphenate if it comes to it...want name to be same as my kids"
Yes, it is proper to address a widow by her last married name.