Robert McCarthy went through great lengths to legally take his wife's last name and become Robert Everhart. That Everhart, 28, fought so hard after state officials told him to get a court order to get a driver's license with his new last name just warms my heart.
Everhart must have raised eyebrows (and maybe some chuckles) when he walked into the local Pascagoula DMV to ask for the name change. Last November employees refused to honor his request, even though he showed his marriage license and a newly issued Social Security card, as so many women have successfully done when they take their husband's name.
I just can't believe a man would be denied a romantic gesture that poses no problem for women.
Everhart got the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi involved. The ACLU sent a letter to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Albert Santa Cruz on Tuesday, letting them know that they were violating state and federal law. By Wednesday, he was issued his new driver's license. Way to go!
Everhart tells the Associated Press:
I know most people think I rolled over and took my wife's name ... But she's the only surviving kid with her parents, and everybody said my name wrong. It was a dual reason. Now all I have to do is worry about people misspelling it.
That his wife will be the last kin to carry the last name and Everhart wants to prevent that from happening makes me gush even more.
Written by Jenny Mero on MamasLatinas.com; image via Thinkstock
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Comments 20
I've heard of men doing this before. I wonder why he was given such a hard time?
I've always thought it made more sense to go by the females last name - I mean until paternity tests everyone just assumed it was the husbands child, but everyone always KNOWS it's the woman's.
That's awesome!
One of my friends did that. The husband had a really unfortunate last name and when they got married, he took her (normal, easy-to-spell, no-social-stigma) name. I don't know what hoops he had to go through, but he did it.
When I get married, I will not change my name if my husband does not change his name. Ideally we would both change our names so they are hyphenated. For example, if my last name were Brown and his last name were Smith, I would expect to us be Mr and Mrs. Brown-Smith.
The thing I'm most amazed about is that people couldn't pronounce "McCarthy" correctly. It's really sweet that he took his wife's name.
@William, considering that neither my or my boyfriends last names are anything of the sort, I would NOT expect to be known as that. We both have easy to pronounce names that aren't long and that roll of the tongue.
*off the tongue. But, obviously such as arrangement wouldn't work for two people with long last names.