Did you or will you change your name after marriage?

[stardusted 0]

I currently don't have plans to change my name. My last name is Indian and impossible for most Americans to pronounce, and my Other Half has a lovely last name, but I like my name. I can't be bothered with the hassle of getting in changed everywhere.

[Jan and Steve 0]

Has anyone felt any pressure from family or otherwise to change their name? I don't think I feel any direct pressure from family to change my name, but I am the only one who hasn't changed so they do raise eyebrows.

And what about if you have any kids in the future... what name will they have?

Curious again.

[Chet 0]

This is an interesting topic to come by. For simplicity of filing paper work for our K-3, we decided to keep my wife's maiden name. However, when she moves here, I would like her to take my last name. To me, this means a lot as it represents unity (right, wrong, or indifference). I do have a question on this matter. How does one go about her last name when she arrives? Thanks!!

[HighwayStar 0]

My maiden name is French, so it gets butchered often. I'm not changing it to fit into the patriarchal reasoning; I'm doing it because its easier to pronounce...

This is exactly why I am going to change it - my first name will already cause enough problems (I've hardly ever met any speaker of English who can pronounce it correctly) to add my maiden name to the equation. And then, I know my darling husband-to-be would be very happy if I took his name.. I've had mine for the past 47 years, so I suppose it's time for a change !

[Ana&D 0]

I actually never even thought about keeping my maiden name Here's the reasons why:

1. My last name is hard to pronounce and spell for Americans (At my last US job various paperwork had like three different spellings

2. My hubby-to-be has a very nice sounding last name that goes perfectly with my first name

3. Since my first name is very unique (Ana is just short version of my full name ), I will still have a part of "me" there

4. I can't wait to change to his name since it will indeed symbolise our union

Still, I think it's personal choice. If you like your name and hubby has no problems with you keeping it - go for it!

[Cecile and Bryan 0]

Has anyone felt any pressure from family or otherwise to change their name? I don't think I feel any direct pressure from family to change my name, but I am the only one who hasn't changed so they do raise eyebrows.

And what about if you have any kids in the future... what name will they have?

Curious again.

I have had pressure from my family to keep my maiden name. My mother feels like I am giving up everything by moving to the USA, so she'd like me to keep their last name. I told her that I am not giving up everything, they are still my parents and I will still be French, and that if I was going to marry a French man, living in France, no-one would have wondered if I should keep my maiden name or not. Again, it is a personal choice, but I believe that taking my future husband's name will symbolize our union as much as the wedding will.

[Alex & Rachel 78]

My last name is simple; easy to spell and easy to pronounce. It's also ugly and boring! So I can't wait to ditch it and take Alex's name, even though he warns me that no one can ever spell it or pronounce it first time round.

No pressure from my family to keep my surname. In fact it's the opposite way round - my mother also loves Alex's last name and has expressed her envy at me getting to change it. Mine is such a common last name and my family is so prolific that it holds very little meaning for anyone. My mother's even trying to convince my brother to take his future wife's (nicer) last name when they marry.

Kids would definitely have Alex's last name.

[dbears 1]

I will be using my family name as my middle name and then taking my future husband's last name as my surname (last name). No pressure from any side, I just feel like doing it, no profound reason.

[ronjie 0]

After being married to the most wonderful man in my life....i changed my last name to my husband surname co'z 4 me its just one of the million reason of respecting your husband...and also i want to let the whole world knows that i'm married already....and i'm proud of my husband's surname....but i know of course...people have different reason why they did and didn't change their last name...so i gave them the respect ..... I miss my husband so much. ....See u soon dad!

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

My surname is distintly Irish and I'm keeping it thank you. Just because we've decided to be together, doesn't mean that we're somehow the same person. So we'll have different names. I guess many people consider that then they would end up having a different name from their children if they keep their own name. I'm not sure how that will work itself out, but I'm sure it will.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

My parents have been married for over 30 years and my mom kept her maiden name. People are always like "Why?", "Oh, that's weird". I think it's perfectly fine. To each their own.

I was married before and I took his name, then changed back to my maiden name which is an extremely common name.

I want to take Nick's name simply because I love the thought of having it.

I've changed everything over before, it's not too hard to do so... I'm excited!

[DairyFarmer 1]

I can't wait to be Mrs John ****.

I guess I am traditional, and so is he.

[Dr. Obvious 49]

Has anyone felt any pressure from family or otherwise to change their name? I don't think I feel any direct pressure from family to change my name, but I am the only one who hasn't changed so they do raise eyebrows.

Nope. After all the divorces in my family, maybe they think it is even smart not to bother.

My husband uses my last name on occasions where it really doesn't matter. He thought about legally changing it, but then decided against it.

[ginger1981 0]

Like someone said above they have a distinctly Irish name...same for me. I look like the American stereotype of the Irish too, so the look and the last name have always been entwined for me, and I feel like I would miss my maiden name terribly if I gave it up. I'm not changing my name legally but I'll let people call me Ms. McMillan as I don't mind being my hubby's wife .

Also, since I'm just starting to get a career going I feel changing my name might cause problems. There is also the fact that I feel like we've done so much paperwork with the visa right now I'm just not keen on doing any more.

[Jan and Steve 0]

Interesting responses to these questions about name changing.

Have any husband's changed their name to the wife's name? If it's really not about an old tradition, then why don't we see more guys changing their names... other than the fact that it's a pain in the butt to do so.

Janny