It's not a long-term solution, really. The couple on the show I watched ended up taking a relatives name that was going to die out with him.

Well, then the simpler solution seems to be to just keep your own individual names. Or not get married.

What's your kids name then? It's so complicated

I don't have any children, but I guess one could just pick. I'd toss a coin. Let fate decide.

I kept my name and our kids have my last name as their middle name and dad's name as their last name. In hindsight, we should have switched that, because a) I birthed them and b) I didn't like people assuming I wasn't their mom. (And I did all of the school paperwork, Dr visits, etc)