Did you, have you, would you change your surname?

Got married young and took husbands name. Marriage failed but kept name. Met the man I have spent 23 years with. Got married 7 years ago but have kept my previous (married) surname. Everything is in that name. It was mainly for professional reasons. I respond to either name now and so does hubby respond to Mr Mollie. Only tricky thing is I received a cheque in my husbands name and couldn’t put it into my bank. I would have to change everything and I didn’t want to do that. Apart from a marriage certificate there is nothing to say we are married ie bills passports etc. SiL changed his surname on marriage to another name within his family as neither him or DD liked his then current surname. Think it caused some waves initially but 10 years on And now with children it’s just their family name. The name they chose would have died out and now with boys it will continue which is a bit of a win!

I would have liked to revert to my maiden name (which was Valentine), when I got divorced over 40 years ago, but didn’t as I had young children and felt it would be difficult if we had different surnames. If I thought then what I think now I would have changed. Times and opinions change.

I changed my name back to maiden name after divorce and when they reached 18 DS and DD changed to it as well. I’m unlikely to marry again, but if I did I would consider a double barrel.

I didn’t like my maiden name, certainly did not want to retain my married name once I’d divorced him ... so legally changed my name to my beloved Nan's surname. So every time I say my name, I think of her ....

I reverted to my original surname a few years after I divorced when I changed teaching jobs. I didn't have any red tape as women changing their surnames is pretty common. Very few, if any, of my female divorced friends have.

I took my husbands name when I married, then when I divorced him I kept his name whilst the children were at school to save confusion. As soon as my youngest child left school I changed back to my maiden name, my youngest child (then 17) also changed his surname to mine (he had never seen his father so didn't feel a connection to his father). Then when my middle son got married he took his Wife's surname as her father had been like a father to him since he was a teenager. So out of three sons only one still bears his fathers surname!

I loved my maiden name but took my ex surname to make it easy with kids but as soon as I knew I was divorcing I changed my name back by Deed Poll and will always keep it even if I was to remarry. I love it always have done and always will.

I changed my name back to my own name after both divorces. I recently changed to my mothers name when I found out what a deeply unpleasant person my father was, and that’s an understatement.

I've always kept my "maiden" name and I've been happily married to DH for well over thirty years. (It doesn't bother him one jot!) What surprises people is just how long ago I did this: it's much more common now.

I changed my name when I married my first husband. When I divorced I kept his name. When I remarried I kept my first husbands name just because I preferred that surname. My second husband wasn’t bothered by that in the slightest.

I retained my maiden name for work and used my husband’s surname for family matters after we had children, including my passport, by which time I never travelled abroad for work. Then, out of the blue I had to go to Germany on business and my secretary booked the flights. Got as far as the gate to board when bingo, it was revealed the names on my boarding card and passport didn’t correlate. Fortunately my driving licence (still in my maiden name) saved the day, although I then spent my whole time in Germany wondering if I’d be able to get back!

I considered changing my surname when I got divorced (knee jerk reaction) but when I wrote a list of all the organisations that would need to be told, and the cost of a new passport etc, I decided to keep my married name. Also, creepily, my maiden name is the same as my ex-husband’s girlfriend’s.

I have the old-fashioned view that when you marry, two become one, therefore share one surname, it just seems logical to me, especially if you marry in church and your father 'gives' you away, so you don't use his surname any more. I do know of professional women who use their maiden name for their profession and their married surname for everything else. What is the point of being married if you are going to share everything except a surname, especially when children come along, just having one family name. I don't care for the double-barrelled surname trend, but then, I am old-fashioned.

While waiting for my divorce to be finalised I had all the forms filled in, envelopes addressed ready to send off to get back to my maiden name. I had such a horrible marriage I didn't want to keep his surname. I've still a lot of friendships from way back and we always use our maiden names if we are speaking about each other rather than their married names when I think about it lol.

EllanVannin I used to work with someone named Sidebotham. I remarked that she must have loved him to take on such a name. She replied that her maiden name was Shuflebottom! Out of the frying pan.........!

I never even considered keeping my maiden name when I married, 57 years ago. The idea of living with a man with different surnames! Oh, the scandal!

My DD married a Peruvian with a double-barrelled surname - the norm in Peru. She kept her maiden name. Her DD was given the first part of Dad’s surname.

I couldn't wait to get rid of my maiden name because it was so awful so I'm glad that rule/tradition was in place years ago. I kept my married surname on divorce. One of daughters kept her maiden name on marriage and the children have her surname too as her husband's surname is not great. My other unmarried daughter gave her child the father's surname and, if they decide to get married, she will also take his name so she can have the same surname as her children. There doesn't seem to be any 'normal' nowadays.

I like the Israeli tradition where the new husband tags his new wife’s surname in front of his, so both have kind of met in the middle.

When I married I added husband's name to mine. It was rather long so eventually dropped his name. After 25 years we separated and divorced. I love the sir name I was born with. Even if I married again I would not change it. I don't understand the reasoning behind name changing anyway. You are not your husband's possession. Our children have my name as a middle name.

Having been married and divorced twice . I kept married name the first time didn't want the kids to different .
Second time I wanted no reminder so changed to maiden name as soon as possible.
I am actually planning to get married again next year and hope to keep my name with him also using it .just feels right

My youngest daughter kept her maiden name when she married, and my older daughter wishes she had done the same. It is a foreign name, rather long and usually mispronounced, but they both like it’s meaning. The children of my younger daughter have their fathers surname and it doesn’t seem to have caused any problems.

I didn't change my namr on marriage in 1972. I am 75.

I took my ex husband's surname when I married and kept it when we divorced , mainly because of my son - seen so many families where every member seems to have a different surname to the other!
Now I have had my married name for longer than my birth name, too much of a faff to change it back and never thought I was losing my identity taking a man's surname anyway - just think if it had been like when your parents married - the women not only lost their surname but their first name too when they became "Mrs Bert Bloggs"!

I divorced and decided to take my mother's maiden name and felt so happy with that. Married name was very unusual and always spelling it so glad to get rid of it! My Grandparents name and felt keeping in the family, but didn't want to go back to my maiden name as felt I needed to move forward. When I remarried I refused to take my new husband's name as another complicated one!

I felt proud to be Mrs..... after marrying in 1972.
The thought of not taking his name never entered my head.

Don’t know what I would have called myself if we had divorced though.

A divorced friend still kept her married surname, as she wanted to have the same name as her children.

I kept my original ("maiden") name for my professional purposes as all my qualifications were in that, but used my DH's name in our married life (only because I actually liked it better than mine, AND because my father's family were horrible and I didn't want to carry it on). A friend had the opposite issue - her husband's father left when he was very young and didn't support the children (they were very short of money and opportunities growing up) and was generally a terrible father, so when they had their children they gave them HER name instead. ( Strangely, his mother was not happy about it and continues to send them cards and presents addressed to His surname!)