There's a backlash over asking someone's last name during a date — and people are freaking out

• There's a dating trend to not always ask your date's last name.
• That's because apps like Bumble and Tinder only show first names.
• Asking a last name is a sign that the relationship is getting serious.
• Some people think this trend is a huge safety hazard.

The latest dating trend, according to the Wall Street Journal, is not telling your date your last name. Not everyone's happy with it.

Because dating apps like Tinder and Bumble only reveal people's first names when you're swiping through the app, last names remain a mystery unless you ask. Because of that, asking someone's last name is taken as a sign that the relationship is becoming more serious.

It also means that every date is half-blind. Without knowing someone's last name, it's harder to Google them or find their social media handles and draw preconceived notions about them.

"Once you have the last name, that unlocks this whole new universe of information," Nicole Ellison, a professor at the University of Michigan who studies online dating, told the Journal. "You can go to their social media sites, Google the person, look up criminal histories."

To many people, this raises red flags. Isn't it better to know more basic information about the person you're dating? What if they're an ax-murderer.

Using first names only also makes it more challenging to resolve missed connections.

But some people prefer it. At least it offers a sense of mystery in the dating scene, if you're into that.

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