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Couple name order (2) Tuesday, Jul 28, 2009 5:06 pm

My name is Dave.  I married Wendy.  We're "Dave and Wendy," or "Wendy and Dave," depending on who you ask.  I think "Dave and Wendy" sounds the most natural; it rolls off the tongue.  "Wendy and Dave" isn't horrible, but it sounds a little forced.  However, most people refer to us as the latter, likely because everyone hates me. 

I always think about how I should refer to couples.  Which name comes first?  Usually it's the person I knew first.  There's "Dana and Dave" (my sister and brother-in-law) and "Stacy and Nick" (my other sister and brother-in-law).  There's "Mom and Dad" which oddly fits the pattern, and there's "Dave and Wendy," because I met myself before I met Wendy. 

But what about when you meet both people at the same time?  As a rule of thumb, I typically put the man's name first.  It's sexist and self-centered and offensive, but honestly, I just needed a reliable way to list couples in my email address book. 

But also, I'm sexist.  The man is typically the original owner of the last name, so putting the woman's name first makes it sound like she might've kept her last name or might not even be married to the guy (which isn't terrible, but certainly makes my little system more complicated).  And that's even how the new couple is announced at their wedding.  (On a related note, the bride-to-be's name should be placed before the groom-to-be's on the invitations, a fact I stupidly ignored and feel slightly bad about to this day.)  Also, there's that whole Christian "man is the head of the household" thing, which doesn't necessarily mean he's in charge, but that he gets blamed when things go wrong. 

When all else fails, I go by height order.  Since most men are taller than their mates, it usually fits into my existing system.  And yes, I'm taller than Wendy.  Double win. 

Zane Wednesday, Jul 29, 2009 1:50 pm

Interesting post!  Subscribed :)

Dave Wednesday, Jul 29, 2009 2:08 pm

Prepare to be let down.

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Hi, my name is Dave Hosier, and this website is where I write my unfounded opinions on trivial matters. Feel free to look around, but please refrain from reading anything.

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