Deciding to take your new husband’s name is a huge deal for many brides. It’s a very personal decision that is different for every woman. From my own personal experience, I was concerned about the name I had made for myself in my career and losing my identity that I had know for close to 30 years. But I knew moving forward that I wanted to create a family with my husband and it was important to me that our children had the same last name as me.

I discussed my concerns with my husband and ultimately I choose to take his name after weighing my options. It took at least 6 months until I was comfortable with my new last name. There were many instances where I was called by my new last name and didn’t even recognize they were talking about me.

Establishing myself in my profession was not as painful as I anticipated either. I was able to notify my previous employers through LinkedIn and I sent out an office memo to my current employer explaining the name change.

While the change took some getting used to, I’m happy with the decision I made. I now feel a strong sense of family with my husband that I am excited to pass to our children someday.

Mrs Forever has compiled all the resources you will need to guide you through the name change process. We hope to help take some of the anxiety and stress out of changing your name so you can relax and enjoy being a newlywed!

Here are some name change options to consider and discuss with your future husband.

Take you husband’s name
Keeping with tradition, it is most common for women to take their husband’s last name after marriage. Many women feel that having the same last name as their husband forms a strong family bond, especially when children are involved.

Keep your maiden name
Some women choose to keep their maiden last name to avoid any professional confusion with their careers. Another option is to choose to keep your maiden name professionally, but use their husband’s last name at home.

Hyphenate your name
Hyphenating your maiden name with your husband’s last name can be a good compromising choice for you and your spouse.

Alternative options
Some couples decide to create a new last name by combining both last names together. While others decide that the husband will take the wife’s last name. Both of these options need to be researched to find out what kind of legal procedure needs to take place in your state.