We’ve Come a Long Way Baby!
By Heather Faucher | Posted on September 1, 2009 | Filed Under Name Change
We’ve come a long way since the days when society raised its collective eyebrows whenever women chose to keep their own last names after marriage. Nowadays, women who wish to hold on to the surnames they’ve had since birth don’t suffer nearly the stigma they did in the 1970’s and 1980’s. One might suppose, then, that the percentage of women declining to take their husband’s surnames has skyrocketed in the intervening years…Right?
But studies show that the vast majority of women are still choosing to take their husbands’ surnames after marriage, either completely or in part. Some choose to keep their maiden names as a middle name and tack on their husband’s name at the end. Others decide to drop their maiden names entirely, seeing it as a symbolic statement that they are declaring independence and setting out on the adventure of creating their own families.
One popular wedding website, theknot.com, ran a survey of 18,000 married couples in 2008. Rebecca Dolgin, Executive Editor, stated that 88 percent of women reported changing their names upon marriage. “I think that there was a point in time where women felt very strongly that they had to [keep their names] to assert their feminist leanings or to say that women are equal to men,” Dolgin said. “Now, women are a little more comfortable and it’s not as threatening to them.”
Family is a major motivation for many women to change their names after marriage. They often choose to make that change so that all members of their new family–including future children–share the cohesive bond of the same surname.
Prudence Moylan, who serves as the graduate program director for women’s studies and gender studies at Loyola University, points out that while it’s no longer a shock when women choose to keep their last names after marriage, the movement has lost a lot of its steam lately. She views modern brides’ decisions to take on their husbands’ names as indicative that they are choosing to keep with tradition, or, at the very least, that women are now acknowledging that making a stand over name change is perhaps not the best way to fight for equality.
Katie Kozak–now Katie Smith–perhaps puts this sentiment best: “I think we still have our independence, but we hold family values a lot higher than we used to,” said Smith, 30, of Aurora, Illinois. “I’m still a Kozak under it all.”
And thanks to those women who fought to establish a sense of feminine independence, we have indeed come a long way, baby!
Are you getting married soon and debating whether or not to change your name? Maybe you’ve decided to change your name. Find the information you’re looking for regarding a legal name change here!
About this Post
Tags: marriage, Name Change, Name Changes
Permalink | Trackback |
|
Print This Article | Leave a Comment
Name Change 101…Yes, You’ll Still Smell as Sweet!
By Heather Faucher | Posted on July 23, 2009 | Filed Under Name Change
So you’ve decided to change your name. Maybe you never liked it to begin with, or maybe you got married and want to take your spouse’s name. Could be that it’s unpronounceable and you’re tired of having it spelled wrong all the darned time. Maybe you’re a wanted criminal and…okay, okay, that last one was a joke. But seriously, changing your name can be easy with the right person to guide you through the process. In the meantime, here are a few things to keep in mind.
1. Choose carefully. If you’re lucky enough to get to choose your own name, make sure you practice signing it and having people call you by it out loud to make sure you like it, both on paper and on the lips. Also, if you’re the sensitive kind, try and think of any embarrassing nicknames people might come up with based on the new name. Even if you’re out of high school! Just make sure it doesn’t appear that you’re trying to pretend to be someone else to avoid bankruptcy or prosecution, and it’s also ill advised to violate trademarks, to use numbers or symbols except Roman numerals, or to use obscene words.
2. Rules vary. The rules you’ll need to follow are going to vary from state to state–possibly even from municipality to municipality. Here’s where having an experienced lawyer to help you could definitely come in handy. At minimum, you should definitely contact the appropriate local governments to find out what rules you need to abide by to get your name legally changed.
About this Post
Tags: change your name, Name Change, Name Changes
Permalink | Trackback |
|
Print This Article | Leave a Comment
Tallulah Doesn’t Do the Hula Anymore…Luckily for Her!
By Heather Faucher | Posted on May 28, 2009 | Filed Under Name Change
Photo courtesy of HawaiiPictures.com.
Remember that case in New Zealand last year where the judge, furious with parents who saddle their unfortunate children with outlandish names, made a 9-year-old girl a ward of the state so she could change her name? For years, poor Tallulah Does the Hula From Hawaii (no, you didn’t read that wrong!) had been telling her closest friends to call her “K.” Too embarrassed to admit her real name, she is only one victim of a growing bizarre name trend. One which judges like Judge Rob Murfitt take great exception to.
“The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgment which this child’s parents have shown in choosing this name,” he wrote. “It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily.”
New Zealand law prohibits names that would cause offense to a reasonable person, among other conditions, said Brian Clarke, the registrar general of Births, Deaths and Marriages. According to him, officials usually talk to parents who propose unusual names to convince them about the potential for embarrassment. Sometimes, however, those parents just won’t listen to reason.
About this Post
Tags: crazy baby names, crazy names, Name Change, Name Changes
Permalink | Trackback |
|
Print This Article | Leave a Comment
The opinions and information on this blog are not intended as legal advice. They are for informational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. Click here for the full disclaimer.
Other Resources
