How to pick a good last name?

I have a very parculiar question to ask, I want to change my last name, for personal reasons, ( so please don't ask why)


I can't however find a good name. I have looked within my own family for names, as well as my favorite authors or actresses. There are plenty of baby books for first names, but nothing for last names! I have thought of the phone book, but does anyone out there have a fun and interesting way I could search potential last names?


Thanks guys, and please don't make strange comments on why someone needs to change their last name, sometimes its for a good reason..


Let the ideas role!

How to pick a good last name?
Some of the other answerers gave you very good advice on choosing a new last name and that it should go well with your first name. I can't think of a fun and interesting way to choose a last name except to look in the society section of your newspaper--and the sports section. You will find some unusual last names and some interesting ones.





Now, for actually changing your last name...I don't know if you live in the US or not, but I do and I did get an adult name change.





You will need to get the paper work from your state's website--go to Google and type in adult name change--your state. You will see that there are people who will charge a fee for the application, but if you look further, you will find that you can download it for free. Make several copies so that you can fill one out and if you have made a mistake, you have another to fill out. You then take it to your county courthouse or government center, give the clerk approximately $200.00 for the filing and search fee, and then you wait for it to come up on a judge's docket. Then you are notified of your hearing day and time and where to appear. In the application, you will have to fill out all sorts of info including every name (alias) you have ever been known by, including nicknames. When you appear before the judge, he/she will ask you to swear of affirm that all of the info is correct to the best of your knowledge.





If your app. is approved, it becomes your new name on that date. But, you will need to get a new driver's license, you will have to contact Social Security and prove your name change, and any other entity like an insurance company, and notify them of the change as well. So, tell the clerk that you need at least 5 notarized copies after your approval. But, remember--this change becomes public record.





Hope this gives you a better handle on the process.





Good luck!
Reply:If you pick a unique one, ("Blue" or "Programmer" or "Ricochet") you'll spend the rest of your life explaining it to people. If you want to blend in, pick one of the common ones that isn't Smith - one of the other colors , as suggested, or one of the occupational ones, like Cook or Baker, if you like to cook or bake.





I second the person who said make sure it matches your given name.





You've got 7 great grandparents who don't have your current surname. One of their surnames might be a good fit. Steve Jobs, of Apple fame, went back to college to finish his degree, long after he was rich and famous. He used his mother's maiden name.
Reply:why do u have to? jk isn't there some red tape to go thru when changin ur name? don't know, never changed my name. hey, can i change my identity without the red tape??


go with ur background, there may be somethin there. also ur background culture
Reply:well the indians used to look out of the tepe just after birth and name their children.... you could do some hash and when u come to.... look out the window and the first thing u see should be your last name... IE; two dogs fuxxxing
Reply:I have a co-worker who wanted to change his surname because it was "Masingill". His parents (especially his dad) was upset that he would want to change something that really does mean a lot to some people, but for him it was important that it be changed. What he ended up doing was just slightly changing his original surname. His new last name is Masing. So maybe you could look back at your yours and some of your ancestor's surnames and see if you couldn't adapt one for your new last name.





Good Luck!
Reply:That depends on your first name... They should go together, ethnically, like Kathleen O'Hara or Juanita Gomez, but not Juanita Wojochowski. You need to pick something that is easy to sign.





Smith is good, goes with most first names, but sounds too 'made-up'.





Colors make good non-specific last names - Green, Brown, Black, White, Gray
Reply:the name Quasimodo goes well with just about any first name!
Reply:Just a bit of advice first: it kinda depends on your background. You should probably pick a name with similarity to your own ethnic origins. For instance, if you are Hispanic, you probably shouldn't go with Swenson or if you are Slavic, then Guevara-Rodriguez de la Serna probably isn't for you. Similarly if you are Asian, people may wonder why your surname is Mbekwe.





http://names.mongabay.com/most_common_su...


Here is a list of the 18839 most common names from the 1990 census. It covers a range of ethnicities (although it doesn't spell out which are which). Hope it helps.
Reply:smith. stick with the classics.