DEAR ABBY: I'm about to be married for the third time, to a woman who is also twice divorced. I love her dearly and I know she loves me, but there's a problem:
"Crissy" wants to keep her last married name for the sake of her daughter so that she and her daughter will have the same last name. The daughter, "Janie," is 9, and Crissy is worried that Janie will feel abandoned if her mother has a different last name. She also says it's easier if school records and medical records show her mother having the same last name.
I feel she should drop her former husband's last name and adopt mine. For her not to do so would be a sign that she isn't going into this marriage with 100 percent commitment. Am I being petty, or do I have a legitimate gripe? -- MY NAME OR HIS?
DEAR MY NAME: Multiple marriages and blended families are so common these days that your wife is worrying needlessly about her daughter's school and medical records. However, if she's afraid Janie would feel "abandoned" if she's the only person in the household with the former name, a compromise might be to hyphenate her present name with yours. It's a popular practice among professional women.