What's in a (last) name?

Although it could be considered highly unsafe, I will put my last name out there for everyone one to see. It's Perez. P-E-R-E-Z. Now, in case you haven't been paying attention, this is what I look like.

(Awful pic of the mister and I.)

Um, do you see that pasty pale girl? That's me. This picture was taken in July, when I should have been tan. But no, all my life I have been freckled and pale and burned at the slightest brush of the sun. I guess with vampires being so "in" lately, I can just say I am ahead of the trends, but the truth is, I am fair-skinned. I like to remind myself that Snow White and Nicole Kidman have proved that pale is pretty, but that is not the point of this post.

The point is that no one has ever really believed my last name is Perez.

I remember the first day of school as a kid when teachers would give me a double take when I raised my hand when my name was called. I live in Texas; Mexicans are a dime a dozen here, and they are generally characterized by browner skin and darker hair. I definitely wasn't what anyone had in mind.

I wasn't adopted. My dad's grandparents came from Mexico, and as my grandparents faced persecution for only speaking Spanish as children and having to "learn" American culture, they raised my dad and his siblings to speak English at home with only fair comprehension of Spanish. So, needless to say, I wasn't raised in a house filled with Mexican culture, although I wish I were.

So, my whole life, I have wanted to get married to be done with this name that I have never felt has "fit." I am proud of who I am and where I come from, but tired of feeling like I don't match up. Ever since I was a kid, I have said I can't wait to get married so I can change my name!

Enter Andrew Martinez.

Yup. That guy up there, who is a little darker than me, is as Puerto Rican as I am Mexican. So, I can change my name to Lauren Martinez or still be Lauren Perez. Or I can really throw people off and be Lauren Perez-Martinez.

While I love the idea of sharing a last name with my hubby-to-be, we do not know if children are in our future and it is not important to him for me to change my name. I am sure he would love it if I did, but he won't be crushed if I don't.

(Sidebar: We actually had a wedding coordinator at a venue suggest we have a mariachi band at our ceremony after hearing our last names. I loved her stereotype and told her I thought it would be great!)

So, here is my dilemma: Should I change so I can have the joy of being Mrs. Andrew Martinez, or is now the time to truly embrace my Perez-ciousness (yeah Perez Hilton, I stole that, but I've had the name longer than you =P)? Did you have a name change debate?