Two Are Better Than One

I enjoyed the article on the variety of ways that people arrange their last names after marriage (“What’s In a Name? Sometimes a Big Mouthful” by Lynn Smith, Nov. 22). My husband and I each kept our own names when we were married 11 years ago, and now have two children with a hyphenated last name, Sheldon-Tarzynski. Our biggest problems are with computers that cannot accommodate names beyond a standard length, and people who pity our children, believing we have stuck them with an unwieldy name.

However, no one has asked the children. Our 4-year-old daughter Mercie has her own opinion. She believes that her father and mother have incomplete names, and she has the (preferable) whole name. It is all in the point of view.

KATHLEEN SHELDON

Santa Monica