Changing your last name to your spouse’s is still very much a thing with about 80% of women taking their new husband’s name. It’s a personal decision that’s completely up to you, and some women are opting out of this marriage tradition for as many varied reasons as others are opting in.
In this blog I’ll discuss reasons for and against changing your last name when you get married. And even throw in a section about men who change their last name, because yes, that happens too.
Reasons to Switch Your Last Name
Sharing a Name with Kids and a New Family Unit
Changing your name is symbolic of starting your own family and a big step for your future. This is a heavily cited reason for changing your name when you get married. If you’re planning to have a family, changing your name can signal unity and cohesion inside your new home.
Preferring Husband’s Name Over Your Maiden Name
Sometimes you just don’t like your last name. Many British women were given a name that rolls off the tongue like a spoonful of thumbtacks, or a downright dirty sounding name that they were all too happy to shed at marriage. Taking your husband’s name is a great upgrade for these women.
Important To Your Husband
Some women agree to change their name because their husbands asked them to. This sign of commitment and faithfulness might be a reason you change your name when you get married.
Shedding Your Father’s Surname
Some last names are just messy because of how they are spelled or pronounced while others conjure up messy emotions or family situations that have gotten messy over the years by way of divorce, abuse or other hurtful circumstances. Distancing yourself from your past is also a good reason to change your last name when you meet someone special, fall in love and begin to reclaim your story.
Reasons to Keep Your Last Name
Your Name is Your Identity
Keeping your last name might be the better choice for you if you feel a strong sense of identity because of your maiden name. Giving up the familiarity, the strength, or the family closeness of your given name might be too big or too costly of a change to make.
Your identity as defined by the government may also play a role in your decision. Suffragist Lucy Stone made a rock-solid case for keeping your identity and last name back in the 1800s as part of the women’ s rights movement.
Your Last Name is Preferable to Your Husband’s
For some, switching your last name would feel like a downgrade. If your last name is “better” than your husband’s you might choose to keep yours. Going from something as short and simple as Smith or Jones to something with a lot of letters may not be for you.
Changing Your Last Name Is Too Much Work
Making your new name legal can be a hassle. Chasing paper is never fun, and staying organized and following the correct procedures to lawfully change your name might just not be worth it for you.
Also, I’ve seen some women in the Las Vegas Weddings & Elopements Facebook page express fear of being denied their right to vote as one reason they’re not bothering to change their last name. Unfortunately, voter suppression is happening. Fortunately, if you experience or witness a voting rights violation, including voter intimidation or suppression, you can report it.
Men Take Married Names Too
According to recent articles it’s rare for men to change their last name, but that doesn’t mean that many of them aren’t at least considering it. 20% of unmarried male respondents to a USA Today poll said they were undecided.
In reality it’s safe to say it’s rare, but not unheard of. One article I found says it’s a low enough number that the Social Security Administration and the Census Bureau don’t even bother to keep statistics.
If you can relate to some of the stories in that article, then you may also wish to make the switch to your wife’s name.
Easy Wedding Decisions
Whether to change your name or not can be a difficult decision. 24% of unmarried women have yet to make up their minds! But one of the easiest decisions you could make about your wedding is to book a Cactus Collective Weddings all-inclusive wedding package.
Since 2017 we’ve provided engaged couples with luxurious and adventurous micro weddings in the Wedding Capital of the World. As the original micro wedding experts in Las Vegas we offer stunning venues, magazine worthy photography, modern officiants and florals for the couple.
If you need help coordinating your dream day, get in touch. We love love and can’t wait to introduce you by whichever names you choose to be introduced by during your wedding ceremony.
