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I'm a teacher and plan to continue using my maiden name at school. All the students know me as Ms. XX and I'm not trying to confuse everyone by changing my name in the middle of a school year. Obviously, all my legal documents, license, payroll, etc.. will have my married name, but I will just still be called by my maiden name.
Hm, I always took it as the woman is not going to change her name legally, but will answer to her husband's last name socially. I'm probably reading it wrong since that's what I will do. I am not a professional yet- just would have SS, driver's license and credit cards to change and I am too lazy for that, plus I really don't want to change it! :) So, I'm not, but everyone will probably call me Mrs. HisName and I won't correct them.
I work in aviation as a licensed professional. After we are married I will add his name and have two last names - Mrs. Hislast Mylast. My workplace correspondence, email, documents, paperwork will continue to have my maiden last name only, while payroll and other HR related material will show both last names. I had to check with my HR and uppermanagement and they have said this is okay because I will have both last names legally and can therefore use just one. Not sure how it works in other careers but I am curious to hear more from others.
Ditto, I thought it was more of an "i will respond to Mrs. So and So" in person, but all their professional documents (and therefore their actual name, as it's on their soc sec card, etc) will maintain their maiden name.
I think it just means they will actually respond to "Mrs. Hislast name" versus a friend of mine who corrects people and says, "no, I'm still ____" and inserts her last name b/c she didn't take his name, not even socially.
I'm bewildered by this, too! Thanks for asking. I'm a lawyer and want to keep my maiden name professionally, but keep thinking I'd like to be introduced at our wedding as "Mr. and Mrs. HisLast," so what to do? I guess it makes the most sense to keep my name on all the important documents and just not stress about what people call me outside of work.
I changed my name with payroll to FirstName HisLastName, but I go by FirstName MaidenName HisLastName when I introduce myself to colleagues. Also, my email address is FirstName_MaidenName_HisLastName@ (name of company). Luckliy, I don't have to be licensed with the state for my job :)
My aunt did this. She is legally First Maiden HisLast but since she got married after being established in her career, she only goes by her maiden name. She already had her liscences in her maiden name (Insurance/Notary) and because it is still part of her legal name it is okay. All of her clients call her by her maiden name and it is the only one in her work email. She has been married for 20 years and continued to use her maiden name only. When they do formal things together and socially she will answer to Mrs. HisLast but mostly everyone still uses her last when addressing her. I am not sure what her passport looks like but I would guess it, along with her liscence have both names because legally she is both names. Hope that helps to clearify.
On my marriage license it says "Anyone can choose to go by any name as long as its used consistantly and without intent to defraud." I too am not changing my name, but plan on going by Mrs. HisName socially. What I was wondering was if I could have MyFirst HisLast displayed on, say, our joint bank account checks, or our credit cards. I don't know how to go about finding out if this is doable.
I would imagine, like a few others, that those who will go by their birth name professionally plan on not changing their names legally.
I changed my name to First Maiden HisLast. So professionally I still sign off with my maiden name but every where else, I go by Mrs. So-and-so. But not being licenced by the state gives you a lot of leeway
I've been wondering about this topic also. I've thought about be first, middle, mylast, hislast officially and usinf my first, middle, mylast for work and socially first, middle, hislast. My big problem is the name I go by is a double name that is partialy drived from my middle name. Argh.
I'm defintiely changing my name, for one it's nice to be married and take a guy's name
second its a change in status, he feels hurt with me bringing up I was thinking of keeping my name
I am going to change my name but I am not going to change it at work. People already mispronounce my maiden name a lot so I don't feel like having them trying to pronounce his last name which is Polish and has lots of W's and Z's in it.
Thanks for bringing this up, ladies! I'm also planning on being First Mylast Hislast, but continuing to use Mylast professionally. We both have long names, so it just looks ridiculous otherwise! (I'm a journalist and my byline would be too long to even fit on one line!) To be sure - Do I or don't I have to change my SS card, bank accounts, etc. if I keep my last name, too? And do I have to change my signature? I'm really unclear on the legality of all this!
I have thought so much about this! I am a lawyer and I had a few concerns. What if I don't change my name and my kids have different last names and people always assume my last name is his and its a hassle? What if I do change my name and my friends/colleagues don't know about the wedding? Here is my current idea.
First Middle MyLast HisLast. But instead of having 2 last, make my current last my second middle. So officially I'll just be First HisLast and that's how I'll go socially. But professionally I'll go by First MyLast HisLast. I figure that way I'll be easy to find me no matter how I'm known :)
I'm a lawyer btw so being "google-able" is very important.
I'm hyphenating. First Middle Mylast-Hislast. Socially I'm ok with hislast but at work everything will show my hyphenated last name.
I am very curious about this as well - especially for certain fields where keeping a divide between private and public life (e.g. psychologist, social worker, etc.) is not only tolerated but highly prudent. Has anyone heard anything about the term "doing business as"? I don't know a whole lot about it, but I think it allows people to become licensed, practice, etc. under a different registered name.
I also wonder about this, and I can't find concrete answers anywhere! Anyone in California, and maybe even another practicing lawyer, who knows the answer to this one? I've spent hours on the CA State Bar website. All I can find is that you have to notify the bar within 30 days of the name change.
What I want to know is if I change it to MyFirst MyLastNowMiddle HisLast, can I still sign court documents as just MyFirst MyLastNowMiddle? Or is that some sort of violation? No one seems to know.
Soon2BeMrsC, I feel your pain! I registered on this site just to respond to this.
I am recently married and am going through the process of changing my name. I had assumed that as an attorney, I would be required to use my legal name professionally. I chose MyFirst MyLast HisLast (with MyLast as my middle name), thinking that I could use my full name professionally. That way, people who knew me in the past would be likely to recognize me, especially because MyLast is fairly distinctive and HisLast is very common. Also, anyone who searched for me by my maiden name would still find me on the state bar website or other listings.
I called the ethics hotline to see if I could get more information. The person I talked to seemed very knowledgable and said that there was nothing in the ethics rules that directly addressed this issue. He seemed to think that it was safer to use your legal name, considering that the public needs to be able to access your public listing with the state bar, i.e., in order to file a complaint. He suggested I contact Member Services to see if they had more information.
The person I spoke to at Member Services told me, after putting me on hold to consult with a colleague, that it was no problem to continue to practice using my maiden name. However, she seemed pretty clueless about the rules and said some things that didn't make sense to me. I feel uneasy taking her word for it and possibly committing an ethical violation, but I would like to continue to use my maiden name professionally if possible!
I suggest you call Member Services and see if you can get a better answer than I did. I'd appreciate it if you posted what you find out or PM me!
CAattorney--The ethics hotline/member services will be my next step. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.
I suggest you choose one name and stick to it
I am a doctor and it will be a pain to change very single document I have, and make corrections to every academic body I have joined
however I have seen people who hyphenate their names--they get documents misfiled, lost or things that were done could not be found in the system because their names are interchanged--it's not worth it
I am taking my fiance's name
All my degress are in my maiden name, so I will continue to use my maiden name professionally but I am using my married name socially. IOW am not legally changing my name.
I'm feeling increasingly confident that it's kosher for CA attorneys to continue to use their maiden names professionally. For attorneys in other states or people in other professions requiring licenses, you should check with whoever handles licensing in your state. I have a feeling you are going to find it's OK to continue to use our maiden name even if you legally change your name.
So... My driver's license, credit cards, bar card, etc., will all identify me as MyFirst MyLast HisLast. When I go to court, file papers, or do anything else in my capacity as an attorney, I will identify myself as MyFirst MyLast. That way the universities I attended, previous employers and colleagues, and current employers and colleagues will all know me by the same name. The only confusion I foresee is letting people know that the checks need to be made out to a different name than the one they know me by.
Here is a previous discussion on the same topic: http://www.weddingbee.com/2008/11/11/maiden-namemarried-name-dilemma/
By the way, oregonbride, are you sure you don't know anyone who has done this? I was thinking that none the married attorneys I had worked with had taken their husband's name. Then it occurred to me that since I know them through work, I only know what name they use professionally!
In Wisconsin, I will be required to petition the Supreme Court to have my name changed in the "roll" of licensed attorneys. My good friend got married in May and her request to change her name was delayed because of administrative issues. She was told that until the roll was changed, she could not practice under her new legal name. Evidently, it must be all about how your license is recorded on the roll, not about what your legal name is.
I'd been hesitant to change my name because I have been out of school a few years and because I grew up where I practice. Because my lawyer fiance did not and he has a more difficult name, I had some concerns, especially since our state bar refuses to make you "searchable" in its online directory by both your maiden name and legal name. (To make matters worse, we work at the same firm!) However, for some amount of time I will include "nee Mylastname" on correspondence, etc. and e-mails sent to my "Mylastname" e-mail will be forwarded to my "Hislastname" e-mail.
I'm crossing my fingers!
Celebrities do this all the time.
Casual use, like the school teacher's example, is no big deal.
There are a couple of legal issues involved in other situations.
Let's say my maiden name is Julia Googlemonster. After I get married, my name will be Julia Smith.
I own my own business. To continue to do business, I would have to get a DBA (doing business as) for Julia Googlemonster to continue to conduct business using that name.
This includes depositing checks made out to Julia Googlemonster.
A DBA is very easy to get and quite cheap in almost all states.
Some states require your DBA to be unique.
So if your maiden name is Julia Jones, you are probably out of luck.
As a teacher who is certified in many states, I feel that I need to keep my maiden name in order to avoid confusion. Therefore, after I get married I will take first mymaiden (as a middle) hislast. I am going to drop my given middle name so if I was known as Mary B Smith, and my FI's last is Jones... after the wedding I will be known as Mary S. Jones. Hope this helps.
Another lawyer checking in. I don't plan to change my name at all, so I don't really have this issue. However, is it possible to change my name in the future? Say, maybe 1 year from now if I change my mind? Do you know anyone who has done this?
As a doctor, I have a strong attachment to my maiden name, as that is the name I had when I attained my professional status. I agree with a lot of the other posters in that I will not be legally changing my name, but will happily respond socially to Mrs. HisLastName. I know some friends of mine basically did it this way: if they were married before graduating medical school, then their married name was the legal licensed name. If they married after graduating, they didn't change it.
Some changed it after realizing their future children would not share the same name with them(the mothers). I personally don't have any issues with that, but I think it's a personal choice. My FI is on board with my decision, though, so that helps!
(Of course, he drew the line at being referred to as "Mr. Dr. MyLastName") :)
I know that Jessica Simpson did this... but the other way around. Legally she was Jessica Lachey, but she continued to go by Jessica Simpson socially/professionally. For the most part, it's the other way around (Legally, you're still Jessica Simpson, but you're introducing yourself to friends and neighbors as Jessica Lachey).
I'm having issues with this right now actually. I'm becoming a licensed realtor, and will licensed way before the wedding, so my license will be in my maiden name. I want to legally and socially change my name to myfirst middle hislast but professionally I want to go by myfirst middle mylast hislast or just with my last name on the end. I don't want to have to change business cards and all that, plus my clients may not know who I am when I send them marketing materials. ALSO, my father and I are in the business together so it's called The Pollard Group, if I change my last name, I won't match! haha.
I don't know, have any realtors had to go through this at all?
I am planning on changing my last name to FI's last name.
The topic is interesting because changing my last name and then going by my maiden name could not happen with my employer. Basically, the name that is on your social security card is your official name that goes on payroll, e-mail, telephone, badge etc... I know this because I just had a co-worker deal with this matter.
So for me it would be weird to officially change my name to his, but use my maiden name at work. People would be all kinds of confused if my e-mail address said one name and I introduced myself as another name!
Just FYI, cashing checks in the old name does not require a DBA. When my wife and I notified our banks and our credit union of our name change, they added "AKA"s for us for the old names.
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Okay, so I've been confused by something for awhile, and I was wondering if someone could clear this up for me. I feel like women often say on this website that "I'm taking his name, but continuing to use my maiden name professionally." I'm confused by this because a) I've never met anyone who has actually done this, and b) it seems difficult logistically. Any career which requires a license (teacher, doctor, real estate agent, lawyer, etc.) requires that you practice under your legal name. Any contracts you sign (on behalf of your work or otherwise) have to be under your legal name. If you apply for a grant, it has t be under your legal name. Your paycheck and taxes have to be under your legal name. How does one continue using their maiden name professionally?
I'm intrigued by the option, again, but don't understand the logistics. As an attorney, I imagine this just isn't an possibility for me, correct? Any help from someone who has actually done this?