Should You Change Your Name After Getting Married?

Getting married is a transition that changes every aspect of your life. One seemingly simple act that holds great traditional and often sentimental value is the bride taking the groom's name. One upon a time it went without question that the bride would go from being Sally Bride to Sally Groom or to Mrs. Billy Groom. Today, however, many women find that their last name, their maiden name, is part of their professional identity. An academic who publishes or presents is known by her last name. Changing the name one publishes under may make it more difficult for readers to connect your early work with your current work. What are your choices?

Maiden Name
For some academics, the most obvious option is to retain their maiden name. The advantage is that there is no worry of losing a sense of professional identity. Of course many couples look forward to the bride taking on the groom's name. Some may find that one of the prime markers of marriage -- transition to a formalized unit -- is compromised when the couple fails to share a name. Some women choose to use their maiden name professionally and married name personally.

Married Name
Some professionals choose to take their husband's name, perhaps using their maiden name as a middle name or middle initial. Some balk at my suggestion that it may be difficult to follow or identify their publications after a name change. Many say that if the reader looks closely it is obvious that it is the same author regardless of last name. I have seen job applicants include an asterisk on their vitae to indicate papers authored under a different name. One danger of changing one's name is the possibility of divorce. divorce. It is not easy or popular to think about the possibility of divorce, but about 1/2 of marriages end in divorce. However, many would argue that clarifying a name change is the least of a new divorcees' worries.

Hyphenated Name
Women who combine their maiden and married names with a hyphen mark their change in marital status but retain the ease of finding their past work. This option offers the best of both worlds in that professional identity is spared and the new status is kept. A disadvantage to hyphenating is that, should the couple divorce, the married name remains a visible marker of the marriage and its dissolution. Review the literature in your field and you may notice the transitions of researchers from maiden name to hyphenated name, back to maiden, and to new hyphenated name. I can think of examples in my field. Some might say that it is bad luck to not hyphenate out of a desire to keep a consistent professional identity despite marriages and divorces. Others call it being pragmatic.

Making the Decision
There is no single answer that works for everyone. I have seen each of these variations as well as others. including both bride and groom using a joint;y hyphenated name. To determine whats right for you consider your career, your marriage, and what is important to you.

• Locate examples in your field. Try to identify women who have changed their names and/or hyphenated.
• What do their publications look like?
• Locate their web pages and vitae. How do they indicate work conducted under another name?
• Speak with your spouse about the decision and solicit input.
• Consider your career stage. How far along are you? If you are in graduate school and have not published or presented professionally you are still creating a public professional identity. In that case a change of name would not require a big adjustment. That said, it is still a decision to consider carefully.