Interracial Brooklyn Couple Wins Battle to Merge Their Last Names

It’s easy for a woman to take on her husband’s last name when she gets married, but what happens when the bride and groom decide to do something more specific, like, merge their two last names without a using a hyphen? Well, things become a little complicated.

Newlyweds Solange Franklin Reed and Brian Franklin Reed entered into their marriage by blending and merging African-American culture and Jewish traditions, but they soon discovered that the road to merging their two last names using a space and not a hyphen would have a few legal bumps.
When the couple, who originally shared their story with Vogue, visited the marriage bureau to legally change their names, they discovered that choosing to use a space between their two last names instead of a hyphen was not legal.

Is it Acceptable for a Husband to Take His Wife’s Last Name? 

The beautiful bride moments before 💕💖💕💖💕💖💕💖💕 so happy to be a part of this beautiful day @solangefranklin #FranklinReedNoHyphen #wedding Congrats!!!!

A photo posted by Grace Ahn (@gracegraceahn) on Oct 11, 2015 at 6:18am PDT

Woke up on cloud 9 after attending this amazing wedding! Congrats to the coolest couple I know, @solangefranklin and @brihreed! I am so grateful to have you both in my life. Brian, thank you for making my best friend the happiest girl in the world ❤️👰 photo from @nhouedeh #franklinreednohyphen

A photo posted by Gabi Gregg (@gabifresh) on Oct 11, 2015 at 7:57am PDT

Pretty darn perfect. #franklinreednohyphen

A photo posted by Samira Franklin (@samirafranklin) on Oct 10, 2015 at 7:40pm PDT

“We both wanted to merge our last names to become Franklin Reed,” Solange told Vogue. “Note the use of a space rather than a hyphen. We really had to fight for that space, which was unexpected and amusing.”

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“We weren’t into the idea of a hyphen, so after our wedding, we had to go to court and argue in front of a judge why we preferred to use a space. Thankfully, he was tickled and ruled in our favor,” said Solange.
The Franklin Reeds won their case, so during their Bed-Stuy wedding, the couple celebrated their victory with the hashtag  #FranklinReedNoHyphen!

**Corrections were added to this story on September 14, 2016 to reflect correct attribution to Vogue magazine, and to clarify the nature of the legal battle the couple faced.