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> They take too long to say, and the possessors of said hyphenated names are irrepressible shrews.
A common sentiment, but misplaced. Why do some people hyphenate their names?
1. Sometimes, they are irrepressible shrews - whatever that means. But I don't think shrewness translates into name hyphenation.
2. They have strong emotional attachments to their surnames and don't want to toss them in the garbage. Most men would never accept losing their last name, and some women feel the same.
My wife kept her last name (X), I kept my last name (Y), and our kids' last names are X-Y. No way in hell was I going to toss my last name, and my wife feels the same. And I wanted my kids to have my last name; my wife feels the same. Hence, we are Father X, Mother Y, Child X-Y. Makes sense to me.
I've heard people complain that these names are hard to pronounce - but so are plenty of non-hyphenated names that are hard to pronounce. I've heard people complain that this trend will result in names with 8 parts, 8 generations down the line. But both Spanish and Arabic cultures have supported long, multi-part names for thousands of years (Ali Achmed bin Abed bin Feden; Diego Montoya Sopaldo Diez). Because people are neither insane nor unreasonable, names naturally tend to grow to no more than a handful of parts. So you won't see 8-part names; long names won't destroy our culture; and society won't grind to a halt. In fact, if you take Spanish and Arabic cultures as a model, long names instill a deep sense of history and family legacy.
Anyway, I really don't give a sh*t what you name yourself. I just think it's a bit immature to whine because you can't pronounce someone's name. Big deal - get a better tongue.
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