I will admit it: I have always been obsessed with baby names for some strange reason. Not just for my own selfish possible-future-baby-having reasons, but because it's just interesting to see what names are popular year to year.
A French dating service called Smartdate surveyed its users on their sexual activity. They found that women whose first names end in "a" have more than double the 4.4 sexual partners an average woman has in her lifetime.
My husband and I generally agree on things. Whether this is due to similar outlooks or the fact that he does his best not to butt heads with me I’m not sure, but whatever the reason, the result is a home and family that’s overall pretty harmonious. In fact, until recently, pretty much the only thing we regularly disagreed about was whether pizza should actually qualify as a food group. (It shouldn’t.) I was surprised to find out this past June that I was pregnant a third time and our headcount would be increasing again. I was even more surprised to learn a couple of months later that we were having a girl. I had the perfect name. So did my husband. They were not the same name. And neither of us is budging.
All this buzz over that Baby Name Wizard application had us thinking about names. Particularly names and how they mangle our view of someone upon meeting them.
Seventy percent of Americans think it's beneficial for women to take her husband's last name when they marry, while half say the government should require women to change their names when they marry, according to a new study by researchers from Indiana University and the University of Utah. But it's dangerous to buy these headlines hook, line, and sinker. Before you schedule your move to Canada, let's get one thing straight: Academic research on the topic of married names is limited, but it points to increasing use of and positive perceptions of nontraditional last names, NOT to scary scenarios like government mandated married names.
Boyfriend. Classic, easy. Why not? 57% Friend. Sure, it's a little evasive, but it's true, he's my friend! 21% Lover. Racy, but sexy. 6% Partner. We are all equal here. 6% Beau. I'm an old fashioned kind of girl. 9%
What do you call the guy you've been seeing for the past few weeks? Because, as Big asked Carrie in the Sex and the City movie, when you're both adults, isn't he a little old to be your boyfriend? It sounds so, well, high school. In the spirity of maturation, YourTango has come up with ten alternate names to call your man.
A couple weeks ago I addressed the issue of a woman changing her name when she marries. I expressed that although I don't plan to change my name when I get hitched this summer, I respect and appreciate every woman's right to choose what's best for her. I reject the notion some have expressed that when a woman takes her husband's last name she's giving up her identity.
Changing your name is something we associate with getting married—should you keep your maiden name or take his name? But there’s another LoveStage that deals with shifting monikers as well—getting divorced. If you took your husband’s name when you married, you may want to slough off his name after the breakup. But what do you change it to?
I call my significant other, "my girlfriend." One of them anyway. The other one I call, "my husband." This language allows me to get away with a certain amount of ambiguity, to "pass" if you will. Once I say husband, it's assumed that, when I say "girlfriend," I'm using the Southern version of "friend who's a girl," no romance implied. But that's not what I mean. Nor do I mean anything dismissive or fleeting when I use that term. And so, I wonder, do I need a new word? If I do, what would it be? If not, what happens to a relationship that's not properly named?
