What's In a Name? Negotiating Marital Names Changes

Abstract

Madeline Anderson took a sip of her iced tea and sighed. It still amazed her that this man who sat across the table smiling and speaking casually in Spanish to the server was going to be her husband in less than six months. “Husband” seemed like such a strong label to assign him. Did that automatically make her a “wife”? Weren’t they more like “partners” in this new phase of their relationship? What did all these words mean? She gazed absentmindedly at the closed menu in front of her, certain that she could order the Frontier Special in Spanish if she really wanted to try. Perhaps it was easier to let Martín do the ordering and save herself the embarrassment of sounding too much like a Minnesota girl trying to roll her “r’s.” She missed the time that she and Martín had when they first started dating: time for impromptu Spanish lessons, time for easy conversation, and time for lots of flirting. But Madeline also cherished the changes in their relationship over the last two years. Martín Romero had become many things to Madeline—classmate, friend, Spanish teacher, confidant, lover, and partner—and soon he would be her husband.