Comments on: Mr. and Mrs. ?

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 11:55:28 +0000

Add Facebook in to the picture and you never know if someone’s real last name is the same name as on their FB page (because women are often shown with their maiden names displayed too, whether or not they double upped.) I have my own story — that’s too long for this space — about how I ended up taking my husband’s last name after our kids were born. But I will say after more than ten years of marriage, whatever is EASIEST trumps any feminist notion I may have once possessed on the matter.

By: CultureMom

CultureMom — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 15:42:38 +0000

It is complicated but using the term is the only way to explain it to anyone.

By: CultureMom

CultureMom — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 15:42:12 +0000

Makes perfect sense, Estelle. Thanks for thinking of me with my maiden name right in there. I don’t even mind when people think my full name is Holly Rosen. That’s who I’ve always been.

By: CultureMom

CultureMom — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 15:41:18 +0000

My sister took her new husband’s name late in life. She never liked our maiden name either.

By: CultureMom

CultureMom — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 15:40:50 +0000

Sounds like you hit a happy medium, Cheryl.

By: CultureMom

CultureMom — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 15:39:47 +0000

Ha! The postal service hates me, too. I never thought about them!

By: Erica

Erica — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 01:37:44 +0000

It kind of drives me crazy that the phrase “maiden name” still exists. Since plenty of men are changing their names too, I’d love to get “given name” into more general practice. Oh, for the record I hyphenated shortly before having a baby. My kids think it’s interesting, and I like that I’m showing them this example. My hubby has always been fine with whatever name I chose (although he couldn’t imagine changing his name, grrrr). It’s complicated, but I love it!

By: Estelle

Estelle — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 21:44:29 +0000

One more comment. Since my byline was Estelle Sobel, I figured it would be professionally preferable to keep it in the mix as well.
Estelle

By: Estelle

Estelle — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 21:43:28 +0000

I am Estelle Sobel Erasmus. I legally made my maiden name my middle name, mainly because I never liked my middle name (no, I won’t say what it was), and because I wanted to honor my dad that way, because he has two daughters. Holly, I always think of you as Holly Rosen Fink.
Estelle

By: Aliza

Aliza — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 21:36:04 +0000

I took my husband’s name because I liked it way better than my maiden name. Also, I was barely a year out of college, so I hadn’t established much of a professional life as it was then…