Ladies - Did you change your last name after marriage?

For those of you who mailed your marriage license, did you send the original and did it come back to you?

I'm pretty sure you have to send the original, and yes they do send it back. I just had to get a new passport myself because my old one was in my maiden name. The marriage certificate had to have the raised seal and such. No big deal. None of the name change stuff was for me either. And I took DH's name. For me, it really wasn't a big deal emotionally or paperwork wise.

[mommax3]

I changed my name.....I thought about not changing it for a little bit, just because, but I didn't really have any compelling feelings about it either way, and I was young enough that I hadn't really done much under my maiden name anyway. If I had been older, it might have been a different story, but I think I still would have done it. My college diploma has my maiden name, but my teacher's license has my married name.....and everything official since then has been under my married name.

Sally

[SuzySunshine]

Yes, if they do it right they'll send it back to you. My maiden name was Funke, pronounced funkey, with a long E. So you can see why I didn't keep mine or hyphenate it!

If it was a family name issue I'm sure it would have taken more thought. But since I have 32 first cousins and approximately 8 of them carry on the family name I didn't feel it was an issue!

[bony00]

I hyphenated. My last name is a little bit longer, but it is no trouble.

I don't have a middle name, so I will conveniently be taking my maiden name as my middle name, and then change my last name to my future husband's. So no struggles for me!

[Flynn]

I changed mine but we had the "discussion." He was shocked I would even consider keeping my name. Uh that went over REAL well.

The kicker for me was that at the time I was currently teaching with two women who didn't change their name, eventually had kids and said what a complete HASSLE it was to do anything when their kids had different last names than they did.

It was difficult to ask a medical insurance question, difficult to explain to teachers that YES, you were the mother and NO you weren't divorced, and travelling was painful. Stuff like that.

I didn't feel TOO strongly about the topic so that convinced me changing my name was not a big deal.

[Auspicious]

I changed mine, but it was a real toss-up for me. I was kind of 55% in favor of changing it and 45% in favor of keeping the old. Most people in our current circles keep their old name. I like the sound of my new name a little better, and I wanted the same name as my kids and for them to have the same name as their father. My husband was totally fine with it either way: "Do whatever you'd like, but I'm keeping mine the same because I'm already published under that name." Fair enough.

I already have two middle names (one from each grandmother) so I ended up dropping the maiden entirely. It took awhile to get used to, but I'm comfortable with it now.

I changed my name and didn't really consider keeping my maiden name. DH and I started dating when I was 16 and since we started dating so young, I guess I was used to the idea of taking on his name. I also wanted to have the same name as our children.

One of my friends kept her maiden name and chose to hyphenate her daughters' names. Whenever I send a Christmas card or invitation to her family, I never know how to address it. Another friend of mine kept her maiden name and her children took her husband's name. Her children are now in elementary school and have recently decided that they want their mother's last name instead of their father's. The mother is fine with the idea of them changing their last name, but the father is less than thrilled. :!

It was pretty easy to change my name. The only bummer was that I had to go IN to the DMV to get a new driver's license. If I had known that I would have to pay a visit to the DMV in LA, I probably would have kept my maiden name!