 More women are taking their new husbands' names after marriage,
research shows. But the decision continues to spark debate and
confusion.Well-educated women in
high-earning occupations are significantly more likely to keep their
maiden names, the study shows. Brides in professional fields such as
medicine, the arts or entertainment are the most likely of all to do so.
Age makes a big difference too, according to a 2010 study
in a scholarly journal entitled "Names: A Journal of Ono mastics." Women
who married when they were 35 to 39 years old were 6.4 times more
likely to keep their names than women who married between the ages of 20
and 24. In
fact, the idea that women who keep their maiden names are better
breadwinners is becoming a stereotype that some people use as a basis
for judging women's ability. In a Dutch study published last year in the journal Basic and Applied Social Psychology,
researchers had 90 students compare hypothetical women they had met at a
party based on whether they took their husband's names. Those who did
were judged as more caring, dependent and emotional, while those who
kept their names were seen as smarter and more ambitious. Researchers
also asked 50 students to screen e-mails containing hypothetical job
applications from women. The candidates who had kept their maiden names
were more likely to be hired and were offered salaries averaging 40%
higher than their name-changing peers. Either way, picking a last name can be fraught with complications.
Still, changing your name mid-career, as some of my colleagues have
done, can lead to confusion among co-workers, clients or in my
profession, readers and sources. before their weddings trying to decide what to do. For women who change their minds later, some vendors even offer "  Splitting
the difference by keeping both names, as many women do, "is a recipe
for confusion," one woman writes in an email. She kept her maiden name
professionally but uses her married name sometimes outside work. Now, "I
never know how to introduce myself," she says. Her driver's license
bears one name and her voter registration the other, and she receives
summonses for jury duty in both names.When I got married 15 years ago, I decided to drop my first name (I hadn't use since the third grade),now my middle name as my first and my maiden name is my middle name, and and was glad to add my husband last name. Win, win for everybody! |
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