Surprenant is here to stay | Wedding Wednesday

Serperant, Supernaught, Suprenat, Soopernaught- these are a few of my favorite attempts others have made to spell my last name. While some may be irritated having their name constantly misspelt, my family thoroughly enjoys it. My parents have a collection of misspellings inside of their kitchen cupboard. A few months ago I sent a photo of a new misspelling and my Dad responded, "Don't you dare throw that out!". I don't want to miss out on all the fun by dropping the name.

Carrying the Surprenant name makes me proud. I love my family dearly and feel exceptionally close to my grandparents who have passed on. My name is always a conversation starter with those that recognize the French origin (meaning surprising) or some who pause and ask me to say it again because they are taken back by it. (pronounced Super-not in English and pronounced Soo-prey-nawn in French)

Surprenant is part of my identity and I cannot imagine dropping it because I am getting married. It seems so strange to me, "Alright, you're married! Now get rid of the name you've had your entire life."

Don't get me wrong, I love Rob and will take his last name but Surprenant isn't going anywhere. That is why in August you can refer to me as Anna Christine Surprenant Jenson. Yes, I will have a 29 letter name and I am going to be so dang proud of it. I'm tearing up writing it for the first time.

Keeping my last name is about family and personal identity. The same goes for adding 6 letters. My love for Rob and his family runs deep. I am honored to take the name and officially become part of his family.

I want to hear from you! Did you decide to keep your name and not take your partners? Did you hyphenate? Why did you make the decision you did? Did you struggle to make the change? Tell me in the comments below.

I recently watched a video about a man taking his wife's last name. Robert Surprenant does sound nice. ;)

xoxo,

The unabashed bride, Anna

Donald & Elizabeth (Betty) Surprenant | Nov. 5, 1949 | Worthington, MN

I never met them but their stories are alive in my heart. Betty passed away at the age of 48 in 1972 leaving my grandpa behind with their 5 children. A year later he married Betty's sister, Phyllis, who I was blessed to have in my life for 11 years. We called her Grandma Soup. I was named after Donald's mother, Anna (Kastner) Surprenant.

Phyllis and Don Surprenant | May 5, 1973 | Luverne, MN

I don't have a photo from their wedding day but I do know Phyllis wore a pink suit and veil. Such a stylish woman. ;)

Mom & Dad | January 28th, 1989 | Marshall, MN

The 3 of us Surprenant kids are lucky to have grown up with their strong example. I admire their marriage and am thankful for all they’ve done for us and continue to do.

Fun fact: I misspelt my own name in front of a crowd when I was signing in for a forensics meet in college. I sat down and realized what had happened so I got up to change it with several laughs from fellow competitors.