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| Three surnames for one person. Too many? | Three surnames for one person. Too many? |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A German judge has refused a couple's request for a triple-barrelled surname. Once a relic of the aristocratic age, multiple surnames have a new lease of life. | A German judge has refused a couple's request for a triple-barrelled surname. Once a relic of the aristocratic age, multiple surnames have a new lease of life. |
| The multiple surname, once glory of the European aristocracy - and our own royal family - seems to have lost its self-confidence. Germany's highest court has told a couple they cannot create a new triple-barrelled surname because it might make tracing the family line more difficult. | The multiple surname, once glory of the European aristocracy - and our own royal family - seems to have lost its self-confidence. Germany's highest court has told a couple they cannot create a new triple-barrelled surname because it might make tracing the family line more difficult. |
| We're married and we want to show it Hans-Peter Kunz-Hallstein | We're married and we want to show it Hans-Peter Kunz-Hallstein |
| The couple has professional as well as personal reasons for wanting their new name. The wife, Frieda Rosemarie Thalheim, who has built up a dental practice under her own name, wants to keep that as part of her identity, while also linking herself formally to her new husband, Hans-Peter Kunz-Hallstein. | The couple has professional as well as personal reasons for wanting their new name. The wife, Frieda Rosemarie Thalheim, who has built up a dental practice under her own name, wants to keep that as part of her identity, while also linking herself formally to her new husband, Hans-Peter Kunz-Hallstein. |
| But the German authorities, from a government minister downwards, argue that "name chains" threaten to confuse identities. | But the German authorities, from a government minister downwards, argue that "name chains" threaten to confuse identities. |
| As women assert their independence, and family relationships become more varied, so complex surnames may be coming back into fashion. | As women assert their independence, and family relationships become more varied, so complex surnames may be coming back into fashion. |
| Sir Alec Douglas-Home, the last double-barrelled prime minister | |
| Such names used to be just for the elite, the way in which top families advertised their rich heritage and titles. | Such names used to be just for the elite, the way in which top families advertised their rich heritage and titles. |
| The Habsburgs were European champions at this, with an ever-lengthening dynastic name listing all their possessions. It was doubtless a nightmare for official letter writers and toast-masters, but certainly proclaimed just how well-connected they were. | The Habsburgs were European champions at this, with an ever-lengthening dynastic name listing all their possessions. It was doubtless a nightmare for official letter writers and toast-masters, but certainly proclaimed just how well-connected they were. |
| The British royal family used to do its bit for hyphenated hierarchy as part of the house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In 1917, however, rebranding was thought necessary due to anti-German feeling during World War One, and the royal name was simplified to Windsor. On hearing the news, the German Kaiser remarked waspishly that he was off to see a performance of The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. | The British royal family used to do its bit for hyphenated hierarchy as part of the house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In 1917, however, rebranding was thought necessary due to anti-German feeling during World War One, and the royal name was simplified to Windsor. On hearing the news, the German Kaiser remarked waspishly that he was off to see a performance of The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. |
| Quadruple barrelled | Quadruple barrelled |
| But multi-barrelled identity has not died out in Britain. While Windsor remains the formal royal name, the present Queen has created a new double-barrelled surname - Mountbatten-Windsor - for her direct descendants. | But multi-barrelled identity has not died out in Britain. While Windsor remains the formal royal name, the present Queen has created a new double-barrelled surname - Mountbatten-Windsor - for her direct descendants. |
| Admiral Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurley Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, second left | Admiral Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurley Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, second left |
| Elsewhere among Britain's elite, the armed forces have always deployed multi-barrelled names in large numbers. Unforgettable in this tradition was Admiral Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurley Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, sent in 1939 as a special envoy to Moscow. | Elsewhere among Britain's elite, the armed forces have always deployed multi-barrelled names in large numbers. Unforgettable in this tradition was Admiral Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurley Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, sent in 1939 as a special envoy to Moscow. |
| It sounds more like an elaborate and sinister code than a code. | It sounds more like an elaborate and sinister code than a code. |
| And the Admiral was conspicuously unsuccessful as the Soviets opted for an alliance with Nazi Germany rather than the Britain of Admiral Drax (etc etc.) | And the Admiral was conspicuously unsuccessful as the Soviets opted for an alliance with Nazi Germany rather than the Britain of Admiral Drax (etc etc.) |
| Multiple surnames remain remained prominent in the British military. But in other areas of society they have lost prestige. Alec Douglas-Home was a brief exception as prime minister, swiftly succeeded by no-nonsense Wilson and Heath. Meanwhile the satirists went to work on posh identities, the Monty Python team in particular enjoying inventing upper class twits with bizarre and prolonged surnames. | Multiple surnames remain remained prominent in the British military. But in other areas of society they have lost prestige. Alec Douglas-Home was a brief exception as prime minister, swiftly succeeded by no-nonsense Wilson and Heath. Meanwhile the satirists went to work on posh identities, the Monty Python team in particular enjoying inventing upper class twits with bizarre and prolonged surnames. |
| A name of one's own | A name of one's own |
| So is the multi-barrelled name in permanent decline? Certainly some who have inherited them, such as the explorer Sir Ranulph Twistleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, seem to find it simpler to stick simply to Ranulph Fiennes. | So is the multi-barrelled name in permanent decline? Certainly some who have inherited them, such as the explorer Sir Ranulph Twistleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, seem to find it simpler to stick simply to Ranulph Fiennes. |
| Piers Pughe-Morgan, I presume | Piers Pughe-Morgan, I presume |
| Tara Palmer-Tomkinson has done her best to make sure double-barrelled can still be "It". But Piers Morgan has decided he's got enough talent in the name department without reverting to Piers Pughe-Morgan. | Tara Palmer-Tomkinson has done her best to make sure double-barrelled can still be "It". But Piers Morgan has decided he's got enough talent in the name department without reverting to Piers Pughe-Morgan. |
| In business too, the elaborate and ancient names once common in the City and the boardrooms are now joined by punchier identities from very different backgrounds. Sir Alan Sugar proves you can still fire people very effectively with just the one surname. | In business too, the elaborate and ancient names once common in the City and the boardrooms are now joined by punchier identities from very different backgrounds. Sir Alan Sugar proves you can still fire people very effectively with just the one surname. |
| But even if its status value is dubious, the multi-barrelled name may have other modern uses. Shaun Wright-Phillips, a rare double-barrel among professional footballers, carries the surname of his stepfather Ian Wright. | But even if its status value is dubious, the multi-barrelled name may have other modern uses. Shaun Wright-Phillips, a rare double-barrel among professional footballers, carries the surname of his stepfather Ian Wright. |
| As relationships change - with more children born outside marriage, and married women keen to keep their own surnames - the old single family surname often seems inappropriate. | As relationships change - with more children born outside marriage, and married women keen to keep their own surnames - the old single family surname often seems inappropriate. |
| Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, from friend of Prince Charles to tabloid fixture | Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, from friend of Prince Charles to tabloid fixture |
| Hugh Peskett, editor-in-chief of Burke's Peerage, says double-barrelled names are "being used rather more" by unmarried couples. As champion of the older traditions, with multiple names firmly linked to marriage, he regrets this trend. | Hugh Peskett, editor-in-chief of Burke's Peerage, says double-barrelled names are "being used rather more" by unmarried couples. As champion of the older traditions, with multiple names firmly linked to marriage, he regrets this trend. |
| But attitudes will continue to vary across societies and borders. Britain has always had a more relaxed approach towards what people call themselves. Some places, like Germany, want to keep tighter control. Cultural tradition vies with administrative demands in the computer age - multiple hyphens don't suit databases or identity cards. | But attitudes will continue to vary across societies and borders. Britain has always had a more relaxed approach towards what people call themselves. Some places, like Germany, want to keep tighter control. Cultural tradition vies with administrative demands in the computer age - multiple hyphens don't suit databases or identity cards. |
| But in places where multiple surnames are frowned upon, there could be a way of exacting revenge. The president of the German constitutional court who delivered this week's verdict is called Hans-Jurgen Papier. Double-barrelled first names - there is a whole new seam of identity to mine. | But in places where multiple surnames are frowned upon, there could be a way of exacting revenge. The president of the German constitutional court who delivered this week's verdict is called Hans-Jurgen Papier. Double-barrelled first names - there is a whole new seam of identity to mine. |
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