Oh, the agony!
What’s in a name? Q My eldest daughter is soon to be married and is quite set on double-barrelling her surname. I appreciate the sentiment and attachment she clearly has for the family name, but do feel that it’s a bit… nouveau. Do you think I might be able to talk her out of it?
L. D., Worcestershire
AAhem. Tricky one for double-barrelled lil’ ol’ me. My grandmother, whose only brother was killed in action, did it to perpetuate his name, but what she should have done—what we all should do— is to insert the matronymic as a first or second Christian name to children of the marriage. It’s a bore cramming it into the boxes on forms and Border Control cannot grasp the concept, sending you off to the troublemaker’s queue with the drunks, which takes hours.
If she’s being feminist about it, then she should go the whole hog and not take her husband’s surname at all. Like having attended Eton, a doublebarrelled name is arguably more of a disadvantage these days. Just ask Sir Ranulph (Twisletonwykeham)-fiennes.