Will people think I am Mexican if I take his last name?

Question

My fiance is half Mexican (his father's side) and his last name is Perez. He does not know his father, but kept this name as a child instead of his mom's last name. Will everyone automatically assume I am Mexican because of my last name, I work mostly through email and phone. Same for our future kids who will only be 1/4 Mexican.

I wouldnt have any problems with people thinking I was Mexican if I was, its just that I am not. I think it is more a concern of misidentity than not accepting his heritage. I have no problem with Mexican people

Answer 1

Depending on where you live, yes. You'll be Mexican in California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. From Lousiana to Florida, you'll be Cuban. From Georgia all the way up, you'll be Porto Rican. And in Hawaii and all the way to Japan, you'll be Philipino or Chamoro.

It's no big deal really. I'm use to and now and just nod my head if they ask. "Sure! Today I'm Mexican!"

Answer 2

M, with all due respect you do sound as if u were dragging a problem about identity, If it didn't bother you at all, you wouldn't even be concern about it. What's your nationality anyways? It is just a last name and if I was you I would feel VERY PROUD of carrying it with me just because it comes from the man you will be married to life time and I assume you love! And that right there would make me honorable.
I am Mexican and very proud to be, My fiance is also half Mexican but never lived with his dad, and also, didn't keep his mom's last name, He is half Mexican-half Hawaiian and his last name is also "very Mexican"
He doesn't even talk Spanish, I tell you that I I wouldn't marry a Mexican man , NOT FOR BEING MEXICAN but for the way our culture is.. Most of them are "MACHO" and I've had pretty bad experiences with them so I usually don't date them anymore...

I love my fiance and am very happy to have his Mexican last name not matter what last name it be...
I hope this helps u.. God Bless you..

Answer 3

Yes when people hear your name on the telephone they will assume you are Mexican. If you are tanned skin people will assume this in person as well. If you are light skinned they will probably assume it is your married name as although there are many light skinned Mexicans, the average person does not know this and thinks all Mexicans are tanned skin or darker. You shouldn't worry about it. You should carry the name proudly and not care about what other people think. You love this man and should be embracing his culture regardless of what percentage of Mexican he is. I was married to a Mexican for 17 years. He was also part Cherokee Indian as am I. I also have percentages of other races. I have collectibles from each race as I am proud of all my heritage because it is who I am. My son is mixed as are most of the people in this world. Teach your children to embrace all of there different heritages. Look to the advantages such as scholarships in college because of the Hispanic heritage.

Answer 4

People probably will think you are but not necessarily say anything to you about it. It happens to my mom all the time. She's Japanese and my dad is Mexican so people automatically think she is Mexican especially since her first name is Patricia. But if they see her in person they think she's Filipino because she looks Asian but has a Latino last name. If they ask if you are you can always just politely say no and tell them what you are (if you want). My mom and I do it all the time. It's become kind of entertaining to me that no one knows what race I am, my name and the way I look confuses a lot of people.

Answer 5

Everybody knows lots of women change their last names when they're married. To drive home this point you could use "Mrs. Jane Perez" instead of "Ms. Jane Perez" or "Jane Perez".
Look at it this way. If clients or colleagues assume you're Mexican and have a problem with it, they're not the kind of people you really want to be associating with anyway.
If you have a website or brochure under "about me" you could put what your original name was and when you got married to who, that should clear up a lot of confusion.

Answer 6

I also married into a Mexican family. I do quite a bit of work through e-mails and have to introduce myself a lot too. Some people will assume you are mexican (more so if you have brown hair -i do), but it's not that big of a deal. People don't treat you any differently. Embrace the name - it's your husbands!

Answer 7

My question for you is this---do you really care?

Don't be worrying about what people may assume, that's their problem. He is your fiance, and I "assume" you love him very much, so why not take his name, no matter what your work is?

When I got married long ago I also received a name that sounded Mexican; and the man had no Mexican blood at all! But it was never a problem no matter what I did, and the children have even appreciated it... it's "different."

It seems that both your fiance and your children-to-be will appreciate it if you take his name... they ARE Mexican, at least enough to perhaps be proud of it, as they should be.

You'll make up your own mind, though...This is just what I think.

Answer 8

I just married a mexican and get the same thing. Especially since my first name is a common mexican name too. I think that as long as you are comfortable with your fiance and want to take his last name, that is all that should matter.

Answer 9

If you truly love your partner then you shouldn't even be thinking of this silly thing. You should be proud of sharing his last name and becoming a family. There is no reason to judge people because of the origin of their names or last names and well there is nothing wrong with being Mexican, or African American, or whatever you might be. If you are really in love that shouldn't be of any concern to you.

Answer 10

*my gosh my brother has a slow computer*

anyway, i get a lot of looks when i tell people my last name now. i had a mexican last name before, now it's German..i think? whatever. :P this day in age everyone is marrying everyone and people need to get over it :P

besides, what's wrong with being mexican :) my future kids will only be 1/4 mexican too, but i really do not care about last names, as long as we all share the same name.

Answer 11

I agree with evilangel or whoever above said that it depends on where you are at. Actually most people I have known with the last name Perez were in fact from Spain. Wherever you are at, people will assume that you are either (1) part of the ethic group or origin locally likely to have that last name or (2) married to someone who is.