Thanks for the info Moody and Bora Bora. I really appreciate it.

Because assuming your husbands last name is the right thing to do, duh.

You do realize that it's not the norm in many cultures, right?

Well, I guess that is the right away. Also love the Idea of everyone in the house having the same last name.

The right thing to do is what makes you and him happy in my book. I'm taking my SO's last name because I'm just starting out in my career so it's not like I have a name built for myself and he really wants me to take it (its very much the norm for people he knows). If he didnt care or I had a a business built on my maiden name, I wouldn't change it.

Growing up I had a last name with 4 letters that was hard for some people to pronounce. It was irritating IT'S 4 DAMN LETTERS!!!!!

Got married in 2004 and took that Romanian jerk's last name. Again it was 4 letters. NOBODY CAN PRONOUNCE IT! If I get called Vikki Geico again I'm punching someone in the FACE!

So in October I'm taking Jonny's last name. It's 5 letters, but it's pronounceable! I can shed the jerk's last name and also, his last name is quite a bit more common that if someone came looking for me I could always have the argument, 'Can you prove that I am THE Victoria _____ you are looking for?'

I thought about changing my name now and changing my passport before we married and applied for my UK visa, that way I didn't have to carry 2 passports and our marriage certificate around later. He was a bit disappointed and told me he wanted to be the one to change my last name by marrying him. awwww He was also very pleased when I told him long ago that I would take his last name if we ever married. lol well I just didn't want to be Vikki Geico anymore! j/k

I will change my name once we're married. For me, it's a symbolic gesture that we are one family...not this 'oh I'll hyphenate' crap. Before anyone gets upset...I'm talking FOR ME only...I hyphenated once before...I found it ridiculous...this place had me filed under my maiden initial, others with my married...some put hyphenations, others used my married as my middle...gah it was such a nightmare all the time. And the only reason why I did hyphenate was kind of like 'oh I don't want to be wholly associated with his family' lol. It was used (for me) as a barrier...and there are no barriers needed with my boo.

This time, it's different. And we want kids, so I'd like us all to have the same name.

I am proud of my name.
I have lived with this for all my life, why should I change?
I changed my life so much, allow me to keep my name.
And paper things are easier. My passport and all other documents from my country is on my name.

I hyphenated. It feels like I still have a part of my dad with me, combined with another great man's name: the one I married

My fiance is Tibetan. He doesn't have a last name so taking on his last name is a moot point. I wouldn't have changed my name anyway.

I changed my last name when I got married. My maiden name was 13 letters long and hyphenated. Got sick of spelling it for everyone and no one knew how to pronounce it anyway...

I should have changed my last name to hers. After 38 years, it gets really annoying explaining that I am NOT Chinese; that my name is Irish.

And now poor Mags sounds like a martial art, or a wednesday take-out special.

Yes, didnt want to be associated with my ex no longer!!!

Is your last name Lee? I had a HS Chemistry teacher: Mr. Lee (who was great by the way). He was a proud Irish-American.

We aren't married yet but I want to take his surname. Am actually looking forward to it!

I took hubby's last name. Feels good...

It never would have occurred to me NOT to take my husband's name... we had brief thoughts of taking on a new name and hyphenating it, but it was too complicated so I decided it really didn't matter.

I already answered that yes, I took his name, but wanted to note the above. My husband also does not have a last name, and since he immigrated to Canada a year prior to meeting me, the paperwork was already in motion using the last name in the string of 4 first names as his official "last". I just took that name

I did change my last name right after we were married. My Husband comes from a culture where names mean a lot.
I was excited to have my husband's name and people ask where is that name from and that's when I love to say where my husband is from.

[color="#8B0000"][/color]I CHANGED MY LAST NAME AS SOON AS I CAME HOME FROM GHANA. THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN TRADITION AND BESIDES, I AM MARRIED INTO HIS LIFE, FAMILY AND WORLD. SOME CUSTOMS I CONTINUE AND SOME I DO DIFFERENT. IT ALSO HELPS TO GET THROUGH THIS WAIT PERIOD AND KEEP IT REAL FOR ME.

I got his, because I had all my life hated the last name I had.

Hyphenated? Oh no way. I like how some people keep their old name as their middle name - that's more elegant. But hyphenated names are just unattractive.

i changed mine. i like my husband's surname. i was actually havin trouble changing my signature.

Hi everyone

I m an Indian Citizen and my husband is a US citizen

We got married in August 2007 in India

My husband has filed all the paper work needed for wife immigrant visa and he got NOA-1 with my new last name (his last name) but I have a valid passport with my old name as single will that be a problem for issuing the visa?

Question – 1:- Is it necessary that PASSPORT MUST MATCH EXACTLY WITH THE NAME ON THE VISA?
Question - 2:- Do I have to make a fresh passport with my new last name and marital status?

Please reply

Q1 - no it's not necessary.
Q2 - you don't have to, but life will be easier if it is. last thing you want is to have to deal with obnoxious exit officials at an indian airport.

THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY VJ TROLL

but today i called US embassy Delhi they said name on the passport and visa should be same .

Ugh, my name situation is so complicated - I too am in a 'no man's land' at the moment. I changed to my religious name 5 years ago and this is the name on my SSN, employment records etc. but never bothered to change my passport which I needed to show for ID in Nepal, so the name on my marriage certificate is not the name I use in daily life. I am praying this will not create a snag with the CR-1 since I can't really do anything about the marriage certificate until I go back to Nepal - even then I think it will be difficult. At some point I will change the passport but don't know if I should do so until the immigration process is complete - if I get an RFE then I guess there's my answer... When he comes here we will probably have another small wedding for my friends and family where I will use my religious name and then I will use my husband's last name - I love his name!

I didn't change my last name after marriage because that's my family's name and my family didn't stop being my family because I got married.

not custom for some muslim women to change their names to the husbands in some cultures

I was very happy to change my name to my husband's last name for a few reasons...

- My maiden name even though only 4 letters was ALWAYS misprononunced and often misspelled by other folks.

- I had no happy attachment to it. Being that it was my father's name and because he bolted when I was just 5, leaving only his difficult name behind, it just left a residual unhappy memory. I was happy to be rid of it.

- I like the old fashioned custom of taking the husband's name. It's fine if other's don't want to, but I love having his name...and it's not just his name anymore. To me it represents the joining of families.

My new name is twice as long, still not the easiest name around, but I LOVE IT! And hubster was very happy I wanted to have his name. I remember his sweet smile when I told him I was going to change my surname....awwww...

My wife did not change her name when she married me. She's Chinese and Chinese women traditionally keep their family name when they marry. Her family name is only 2 letters and her first name is only 3 letters. She has no middle name. Her name is pronounced exactly as it's spelled and Americans have no trouble pronouncing it. Keeping her own name was a "no brainer." People have more trouble pronouncing my last name.

mine is hyphenated.

I currently have my ex's last name, as do my children.
I didn't go back to my maiden name because, after 16 years, it feels like it IS my name.

I've thought about what to do this time around. My fiance would be thrilled for me to take his name, as would I.

I was worried at first about the complications this would cause in regards to my kids having a different last name than their mom. Then I realized that in this age of divorce and single parenthood, the situation has become completely commonplace.

So I plan to use both names, unhyphenated, and then drop the ex's after a year or so, once people get used to the new name.

I think the complication and disconnect is where the mother and the child share a name, but it is not the same name as the husband. People assume that:

1) My last name is my husband's last name and therefore my own last name is not my madien name.
2) We are not married and further explanation is required.
3) My kid is not my husband's.

Yay!