Thanks for taking the time to read and write a response, Dave. As a woman who has never particularly enjoyed heels, I agree those are one trend I wouldn’t mind seeing off.

For many decades women haven’t been afforded the same choices men have been. We were told who to marry, when to marry, whether or not we could vote, and more recently that certain executive positions and salaries aren’t as open to us as men. The fact that women genuinely have a choice today on what name they chose after marriage is something I celebrate. Nobody forced me to change my name. My husband never even uttered a word about it until I brought it up years ago. My decision was deeply personal and due to we’ll call “complex” family history. It was a saving grace I had the option at marriage to change my maiden name.

If equality is what you’re going for, which I can’t be 100% sure if it is based on your comment, why then did you not take your wife’s after marriage? Or why did you not name both of your children your wife’s surname instead of yours?

Having your stepson ask to change his name to your surname must have been an honor. Having married into a big blended family I know that speaks volumes to you as a partner and father. I’m curious though if you ever stopped to have a deeper conversation with your stepson about why he wanted to change his name? Beyond the mere legal hassle, which as I acknowledged in my article are without a doubt a pain, he likely had personal reasons for wanting to do this before later in life (18 or otherwise). Our name isn’t just a legal annoyance, it’s part of our identity.