He asks ‘Will you marry me’ and you say ‘yes’. And now, you have a big question to deal with – whether to change your maiden name after marriage or not. Your personal identity, family history and emotions are connected to your name. And if you decide for maiden name change, it can trigger emotional, professional or even political consequences.
Every person you will meet will have different opinion about maiden name change after marriage. But their opinions shouldn’t be of matter. Being an adult individual, it is you only who get to decide if you shoul d change your birth name or not. If you don’t want to change it after marriage, it’s your right. And you can also choose your husband’s last name. In short, the decision is completely yours.
Many newlywed brides find it difficult to decide. If you are one of them, below are some important things you must know before making your decision.
You have more options than you know
You probably think that you got only two options: either to accept your husband’s last name as yours or continue using your birth name even after marriage. But the great news is that you have some other alternatives too. Wondering what are they?
Here are all your options:
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Legally accept your spouse’s last name as yours
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Keep your birth name
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Let your spouse take your last name
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You can keep your birth name as middle name and accept your spouse’s surname as your surname
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You and your husband can have a hyphenated surname created from your last names
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You can have a whole new married name
How does it sound?
Well, you may find this a bit weird but everyone wants a cool surname. And if yours isn’t cool and luckily if your husband’s surname sounds much better, changing your maiden name sounds a good idea. However, if things are other way round, you may either continue with the birth name or choose from some other alternatives like a hyphenated name or a new name. Whatever option allures you most, it is a good idea to discuss it with your partner.
When name matters a lot in your profession
There are certain professions like medicine, real estate, lawyer and author where your name has a lot of importance. You have a huge work record on your name and your professional identity is strongly associated with it. It is very important to consider the consequences in your profession or career.
However, this doesn’t mean you should not change your name at all after marriage. If you want to, there are certain ways you can make this name change transformation as smooth as possible. For example, you can retail the maiden name as a middle name and accept your husband’s surname as yours.
Be Practical
Let’s be honest. After marriage isn’t about showing how much you love your spouse. But it’s a practical decision. A family having a same last name will be identified as a unit. You will not wish to have different last name then your kids.
When you go on international or domestic trips with family, you certainly wish to have same surname in your passports. About 88% of women who get married every year in the United States decide to change their name after marriage and it’s easy to see why.
Make yourself acquainted with the process
Before you take your decision, it is important to get yourself familiar about the married name change procedure and rules in your state. Remember, every state in the country has different set of rules. The process isn’t that difficult, but it is certainly time confusing.
Once you have your marriage certificate with your new name mentioned into it, you need to update the new married name in other documents like driver license, social security card, passport, bank account, credit cards, insurance policies, subscriptions, etc. If you need some assistance to save your time and efforts, you can hire a good agency.
Hope this information will help you decide if you need maiden name change maiden name change or not.
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