jeffreyhy

hcj,

I often wonder if this question makes any sense when I read these threads about name change. As you say, is there such a thing?

There is no reason why people can't use more than one name if they wish, for lawful purposes, and many do. They must be consistent about which name they use for certain purposes, for instance they should file their tax return using the same name that is associated with their SS#.

Regards, JEff

hcj1440

Hi JEff

I have often pondered this question. (I'm a woman btw.) When I was growing up, my best friend's mom was a physician. She went by Dr. [Maiden name] at work, but we all called her Mrs. [husband's last name] since that was her role at home. She was Mary Smith's mom, therefore she was Mrs. Smith.

I thought about not changing my name when I got married, or changing it "legally" - i.e. on social security, taxes, drivers license, bank accounts etc. - but then using my maiden name at work. After all, I had established a professional reputation on my maiden name and it would be a pain to change it. In the end I decided it would be too complicated (filling out HR forms with married name and then insisting that they make my email address and business cards my maiden name, etc. - in a bureaucratic organization this can cause a lot of headache) so I just changed my name on everything. The generation before me already stood up for women's rights, so I reaped the benefit of that and did not feel oppressed when I chose to take my husband's name.

I do recognize that people go by different names, for lawful purposes. For example, authors and actors might have a pseudonym. But I still think that no matter what you call yourself, you only have one legal name - the one you pay taxes with.

Best regards and thanks for the interesting discussion!
- H

Noorah101

Hi H,

I thought of doing exactly the same as you said. I've been known by one name at work here for 14 years, and my existing last name is already a difficult one. For the record, my husband's last name would be even more difficult for them to learn! lol So I'd like to eventually change my social security, driver license, credit cards to my new married name, but remain my current name for business purposes. But then, like you, I thought it might be more confusing when asked to show ID at work for some reason - why is all my ID different than the name I'm using? Also, I'm a notary, and I'm not sure I can use my current notary name if my "legal" (i.e. SSN name) is my married name. I'm still torn. I'd love to take my husband's name, since for me, that's my traditional thinking. But actually, in his culture, it's more common for married women to continue using their maiden name after marriage. The choice is mine.

Guess I can change it when the timing "feels right"

This is an interesting discussion.
Rene

hcj1440

Hmmm - that reminds me that it used to be fairly common for immigrants to "anglicize" their last name when they moved here. I know a French-descended family that changed from DeLoitte to Doolittle (bad change IMO!) and an Italian one that changed from Bellini to Bellina (not a big difference there if you ask me :). My own family added a vowel to ours because no one could pronounce it otherwise. So in the grand tradition of immigration - would your husband want to change his last name to something easier to pronounce? :-)

Noorah101

hehehee.....no! However, his current last name is actually 2 names with a space in between, no hyphen. We are running into people seeing his name and thinking it's FirstName MiddleName LastName, when he actually has no middle name. Soooooo, down the road if he becomes a citizen, he will drop the 2nd half of his last name, retaining the first and shorter half. He's already had to do that anyway, for example on his bank account, because his name was simply too long! I guess in preparation, when I do go about my name change, I could just adopt the first part of his last name (the part he will eventually keep) so that several years from now, our names will match! LOL Or, we could just stay as is and just relax and be happy, before we get thoroughly confused!

Rene

hcj1440

LOL! I'm all for sharing a last name with your loved one - even if it takes a little planning and a few years to get there!

I had my mother's maiden name as my middle name, and I just tacked on my husband's name to the end because I couldn't stand to give up any of my names. So now I have three last names:

FirstName MothersMaidenName FathersLastName HusbandsLastName

Surprisingly, it all fit on my social security card, but it's not centered correctly. <pout>

Noorah101

Awwww....after all that naming, the least they could have done is center it properly! Once again, you were reading my mind. I've considered giving up my current middle name that I've had from birth, as I'm not that fond of it. I'd move my current last name as my middle name, and then take on my husband's last name, too:

FirstName CurrentLastName HusbandsLastNamePart1

I'd like having such a unique name. We're going way OT with this, but it's fun

nkem4ever

Good looking out Noorah. thanks for the clarification and advise or suggestions from yourself and others. As it stands I think we'll be waiting to change the name once we're out of this particular process stage. No immediate rush and i sure dont want to start confusing INS/BSCIS/whatevrer name they go by these days. It's hard enough having them keep up with their day to day workload, and God forbid if I submit something with the maiden name it gets lost, tossed or otherwise unable to locate.

Otherwise, things are moving along slowly but surely. thanks again and continued success to all.

J Moreno

hcj1440 <member19487@british_expats.com> wrote:

    > For those who take a married name, I wonder what is considered the
    > legal point when your name changes. If there even is such a thing.

Up until a few weeks ago, I'd have said there wasn't any such thing...

Your name is what you call yourself.

What you occasionally have trouble with is getting other people to
recognize that the name that is in their records, refers to
you...whether that agrees with what you are currently calling yourself
or was something that you previously called yourself.

--
J. Moreno

Hypertweeky

Add, it is bloody lenghty!!

MMA2002

When I went to get my marriage license I was told it was going to be $200 and we had to go to court if I wanted to change my name later and not put my new surname on the certificate, so I put it there. Social Security I believe asks for our marriage cert and so does passport agency....as far as I know the legal change of name is on your certificate....therefore, I think i'm legally an Akarsu now but nothing is changed....you have to do that on your own....I always joked with Mahir that we both should change our name to something easier....Smith....Mahir and Allison Smith....lovely.....no mispellings or mispronunciations..... :-)

psychobabbler1

I don't think there's any time limit as long as you have the necessary proof/documents required for the change.

I continue to use my maiden name professionally and I guess legally, since it's what's on my DL, passport and SS card. We have a joint bank account, credit cards, and mortgage under my married name. I was told by my employer I could not change my name on my W-2, checks, and any other work-related items (insurance, etc) unless I provided them with a copy of a new SS card with a name change. They said that (change with SSA) was when it was recorded as being legally changed for their purposes.

I think it confuses some people when I use a joint card and show them my DL with a different name, but no one has ever asked me about it.

In addition to others, one of the reasons I opted not to change my name was because of my passport. I only had it 3 years when I got married, and I didn't see any need to incur unnecessary expenses at a time when we were stretched financially and weren't sure when my DH was going to find work.
It does mean when ordering plan tix that we have to order under two names, so my ticket will match my IDs. Not a big problem though.




Dawn

psychobabbler1

I know the feeling! My husband's surname is not unusual in the UK, but here in Kentucky... We are always amused by the various spellings and pronounciations. It's almost like a game for us now--Mangle That Name!

Dawn, wondering why people just don't know basic phonic rules anymore

hcj1440

Not sure if you're the American spouse, but I don't think I had to pay anything to get my name changed in my US passport. All they did was add in a line with my new name, and then they sent me the same passport back.

psychobabbler1

Really? I was told I'd have to pay for another passport. What?
Conflicting information from a government agency?! Surely not!
;-)