A couple combined their surnames after getting married to create a new made up last name - to capture their love of beer. <br /><br />Jessica, 30 - whose maiden name is Shryock - “assumed” she would change her name when she married and wanted to have the same name as her future children.<br /><br />But when she married Zev - who grew up with the surname Steinberg - they decided to go for a new blended name.<br /><br />He never thought he’d change his name but was on board with Jessica’s idea.<br /><br />They decided to mash together their surnames to become Mr and Mrs Steinrock - inspired by their love of beer.<br /><br />A stein is a traditional beer glass most commonly seen in Germany.<br /><br />Jessica, an intimacy coordinator, from Champaign, Illinois, US, said: “I grew up assuming I would have to change my name.<br /><br />“My parents divorced but my mum kept my dad’s name.<br /><br />“Even when she remarried my stepdad, she hyphenated with my biological dad’s name.<br /><br />“When we were 18 she changed it to just his, but it made me think that if we have kids – I want to have the same last name as them.<br /><br />“I was searching through the internet and I saw the idea to combine names.<br /><br />“I thought that’s interesting and made a huge list of potentials.<br /><br />“I think Steinrock was the only one Zev liked."<br /><br />She added: “We said it a bunch.<br /><br />“It really started to feel like ours.<br /><br />“It felt like an authentic mash up.<br /><br />“The word Stein means stone – so essentially our surname is ‘rock rock’.<br /><br />“It means a beer stein too and we love beer.<br /><br />“We got married at a brewery.”<br /><br />Zev, a professor of acting at the University of Illinois, said: “I never assumed I’d change my name.<br /><br />“At first it was really hard for me.<br /><br />“But then the idea of combining names to make a new one reflects what we are trying to do.<br /><br />“I love our name now.”<br /><br />Jessica and Zev met in November 2015 while Jessica was studying for her masters at the University of Illinois where Zev was lecturing. <br /><br />The pair tied the knot in 2018 and decided to combine their names to create a new surname.<br /><br />She said it felt “strange” to “lose” her name and didn’t like the idea of hyphenating.<br /><br />Jessica said: “It’s a personal decision. <br /><br />“I made a huge list of potentials – looking at anagrams.<br /><br />“The idea really started to grow on me.”<br /><br />Jessica came up with Steinrock – and the pair settled for the name after saying it over and over.<br /><br />The couple said some of their family and friends were resistant to their choice of surname at first but have since got used to it.<br /><br />Jessica said: “My grandpa said ‘nah, I don’t like it’ and then just moved on.<br /><br />“People see things you should and shouldn’t do.<br /><br />“Just because that’s the way things have always been done it doesn’t mean that’s the only way to do it.”
