My Last Name
2003 single by Dierks Bentley

"My Last Name" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released in October 2003 as the second single from his self-titled debut album. The song peaked at number 17 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, becoming Bentley's first single to miss the Top 10 and his only one until 2010's "Up on the Ridge", which peaked at number 21. Bentley wrote this song with Harley Allen.
Content
The narrator describes the origins and the experiences of his last name, such as when he beat up a bully who made fun of his name and when his grandpa "took it off to Europe to fight the Germans in the war". In the final verse, the narrator then says that he wants to marry his lover — to give her his last name because he does not have much.
Music video
The music video was directed by Peter Zavadil, who directed the video for his previous single "What Was I Thinkin'". At the beginning, it shows Dierks Bentley's name spelled wrong on a marquee, but at the end of the video, it has been corrected.
Critical reception
Samantha H., reviewing the song for Country Music Online.net, wrote that the song "My Last Name" "is a great story song. All about getting teased because of his last name and still being proud of it.
“My Last Name” enters the record as 2003 single by Dierks Bentley. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Last, Name and single can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“My Last Name” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Last, Name and single provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6945804. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2003 and 2010.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “My Last Name”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow My Last Name primary sources, My Last Name archive and Last research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “My Last Name”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “My Last Name” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.