BBC news - hyphens in names

[groom]

My great nephew and nieces have a double barrelled name, their mother's and their father's. It is hyphenated, so they are Smith-Brown (not real name!)  When they were registered the parents were asked whether they wanted a hyphen or not, so asked what difference it made. From what I understand if it wasn't hyphenated the children could just be known as Brown, but if it was hyphenated they would be known as Smith-Brown.   

[Top-of-the-hill]

  I don't know what the practice is now, but when I worked in libraries books by authors with hyphenated names were filed under the first name. Unhyphenated names went under the second name, which accords with what Groom said. Names without hyphens were a problem, as they often ended up in two places!

[dowdstree]

I too worked in libraries many years ago and we filed our books the same way as Top-of-the-hill.

Dorrie

[Sloe Gin]

Should be straightforward.  Hyphenated if it's a surname, not hyphenated if the first element is treated as a forename. 

Like the US custom of married women keeping their former surnames as forenames, eg Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis.

[Ruskie]

My great nephew and nieces have a double barrelled name, their mother's and their father's. It is hyphenated, so they are Smith-Brown (not real name!)  When they were registered the parents were asked whether they wanted a hyphen or not, so asked what difference it made. From what I understand if it wasn't hyphenated the children could just be known as Brown, but if it was hyphenated they would be known as Smith-Brown.

I accidentally gave my children hyphenated surnames. My intention was for my surname to be the middle name, but somehow it ended up hyphenated. I can't recall if I was asked if I wanted this, did not understand this was how it worked, and I have regretted it ever since.

Having gone through life having to always spell my surname, I wanted them to have their father's common surname to avoid this.

Unfortunately they have ended up with a long double barrelled surname which they have to spell and which they struggle to fit on forms and on cards issued by the banks. 

[Treetotal]

One of my Family lines all have the middle name Miller and there has never been an attempt to hyphenate it...the middle name has come down from about five generations and was original a Maiden name.
The fashion today of having two surnames I believe is the result of people living together rather than marrying and it acknowledges both Parents. I always associate double barrelled names with the upper classes.
Carol

[groom]

  The fashion today of having two surnames I believe is the result of people living together rather than marrying and it acknowledges both Parents.       

Yes, that was the reason my niece did it. Mind you it did prevent problems now that they are no longer together. Last year she took the children abroad on holiday and took the precaution of having their father sign a statement that he gave his permission. When she presented that at passport control, she was told it wasn't necessary, as part of the children's surname was the same as the one on her passport.

[Erato]

I know people who kept their own surnames and gave their children a sort of hybridized surname -  like, for example, Whitaker + Burnside = Whitburn.

[ThrelfallYorky]

At one time, teachers would assume a child with a double-barrelled surname was posh. More recently, they often made the assumption that the parents were not married! Perhaps the assumption should be that the parents are proud of all family surnames?
TY