Hi Jennifer!

I’d love to hear your advice about blending my last name, Rothschild, (ROTH-child) with my fiance’s last name, Meyer (MY-er). The readily available options are Rothsmeyer and Meychild, (although we’d probably do Rothmeyer or Mychild, to spare our kids the trouble of spelling it over and over for people). Which of those do you think makes the better last name? We are partial to Mychild for some reason, even though it sounds like “my child.” What are your thoughts?
 
Thanks in advance!
Chelsea
Hi Chelsea,
Interesting question. I’ve heard of couples doing this instead of hyphenating. I think it’s a good alternative, since hyphenating can get long and tedious. As for your question, I will apply my tip on first naming to say that Mychild would be the easiest to spell and pronounce.
 
For what it’s worth,  I also kind-of like Mythchild–it sounds like a name from a fantasy novel! Rothmeyer is also perfectly acceptable, and I don’t believe your kids would have any problem with that.
 
Good luck and let me know what you decide!
Sincerely,
Jennifer
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Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.

Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.