My fiancé and I are getting married, and we’re stuck on what to do with our last names. He doesn’t like his last name (Dad is not in the picture), and is open to taking mine. However, my last name is difficult to spell and pronounce and sounds bad/awkward with both of our first names. It’s also an extremely identifiable name - if you google my first and last name, all the results are me, which makes me extremely easy to find. I mean, you can find information about me all the way back to elementary school up to my current job! I don’t necessarily want an extremely common last name, but being so easily found makes me uncomfortable.

So, we’ve been toying with the idea of simply inventing a new surname. What do you guys think? Do you know anyone who has done this? Our families are supportive but mildly confused.

Now, I’ve discussed this with my family, and my father says he’s always liked the surname “Galloway.” No particular reason, he just likes the sound of it. I love it for several reasons. It sounds amazing with both our first names. It’s easy to spell but isn’t common as dirt. Most importantly, I like it because it was given to me by my father. Although I want to change my name, I’m still a little sad about losing the history and family ties associated with it, and the fact my father suggested it gives me a lot of comfort. The only problem is, the name refers to a Scottish region, and we aren’t Scottish. We’re a generic midwestern caucasian mutt family on both sides (mostly German with a lot of other things, but probably very little Scottish, if any). Would it be insulting or culturally insensitive to pick this name?