Are you changing your name?

[*Ashley*]

Why or why not? If so, are you taking your maiden name as your middle name?

I am changing my name and dropping my maiden name entirely. I love my middle name (Renee) too much and I'm very traditional -- I can't WAIT to take Michael's last name!

[wendy9879]

I consider myself to be pretty traditional too. I'm changing my name and dropping my maiden name also. My last name is French so many people are mispronouncing/misspelling it. FH's last name is short, simple and easy to spell.

I swore that if I met someone with a weird name, I'd keep mine. :giggle:

[Emily]

I changed mine to his and dropped my maiden name. It's so nice to have a name people can pronounce!

[Deidre98]

I am changing my name to his and dropping my maiden name.

[Mrs. Pickering]

I changed mine to his and that's how I always wanted to be. Although about 2 weeks before the wedding I freaked out and had some sort of identity crisis and almost kept my name for sentimental reasons. But I got over that!! I just had a hard time with parting with the name I had for 23 years!!

[Lacie]

I changed mine and dropped my maiden name altogether - didn't have a single hesitation! :)

[*TanyaJeanne*]

I am changing my name to his and dropping my maiden name :)

[kate]

I agree with Ashley, I can't wait to take Dan's last name! I am dropping mine altogether, I don't want to get rid of my middle name. I haven't ever thought about doing it any other way.

[Stacey]

I am changing my name to his and dropping my maiden name.

[MsJessica07]

I don't have a middle name, so it'd be easy to keep my maiden as a middle...

I really haven't decided yet though...

[Krissy]

I dropped my maiden name and took his name. Althought I wasn't at excited about it as some of you are! I went from a very original last name to a common one and it took me a while to get used to it. I wasn't used to coming across people with the same name at first. Two days after we got married there was a Kristina XXXXXX on the news...i was kind of annoyed! lol

[ashley225]

I will be changing and keeping my maiden name as a middle name. It seems strange to me to go without it!

[oupiglet]

I didn't change my name. It is who I've been for 33 years and I didn't see the need to change it.

[Aubrey]

I'm not very traditional at all most of the time, but I always knew I'd take my husband's married name if I ever got married. I've been married for over a year now and it's still sometimes weird thinking I have a new last name! I went from a really unusual last name to one of the most common ones in the US, so it's been a big change!

[Angela]

I'm changing my name to his. I didn't want to because of all the paperwork, etc., but it means more to him for me to change my name than it means for me to keep mine.

[Carrie429]

I dropped my maiden name and took his last name as well. Still trying to get used to it!

[belle67]

I am changing my last name to his.
That is one thing I am traditional about. :heee:

[*Ashley*]

My last name is French too (my Great-Great Grandfather dropped the La in front of it when they came to American though)

I also can't wait to have a name people can pronounce!

[*Sarah*]

I'll be changing mine. Partly because of the tradition behind it and partly because I'm not that fond of my maiden name so might as well :dunno:

[Diane]

I didn't change my name. It is who I've been for 33 years and I didn't see the need to change it.

Me too! DH didn't care what I did, but the only thing he asked is that I didn't hyphenate. I wouldn't have done that anyway, because our last names together sound like I am talking with a mouth full of marbles. :laugh3:

[Hughto]

I am taking his name. I will move my maiden name as a second middle name and keep my existing middle name as well.

It was cute, last week after we got engaged, Aaron asked me if I thought about whether or not I would change my name. I told him I had, and of course I would. I was surprised he hadn't expected me too! I am very excited about sharing the same name!

[nikkiana]

I'm changing my name. I'm keeping my middle name and dropping my maiden name.

[christinas2006]

I am too dropping my maiden name. I really like my middle name. Plus it is the same as my mom's! I like have the connection between us.

[Trinia]

I am changing my name and dropping my maiden name as well.

[RDC_girl]

dropping the maiden name completely and taking marks name

[Christa]

I think I'll be taking my maiden name as a second middle name. I want to take his last name but I don't want to completely lose my maiden name

[smiles]

I changed mine and dropped my maiden name entirely. My madien name is not common, and I'm changing it to a very common last name.

[Jaime]

I changed my last name mainly because I used to work for a bank and had to give out my full name on phone calls where I was called names that I had never heard of before. So it was more of a security issue for me. I kept my middle name as is and dropped my maiden name entirely.

[Kristie]

It was a tough decision for me because I really like my maiden name and didn't want to lose it, but I knew I wanted me and DH along with our kids to have the same names.
I have changed it and I'm fine with it now... although I still like my maiden name better :lol:

[Lori]

I don't know what I will be doing yet. He wants me to take his last name but I don't think I will. I want to have the same last name so we have talked about both changing our name to be hypenated but that seems to complicated, so I might just keep mine. Or I might take his, I'll probably change my mind a million times before then.

[Jaci]

lol @ diane!

I plan on keeping my last name, I really like my last name and I think my first name sounds stupid with his last night, like I have a lisp.

[Venus]

Couldnt imagine personally doing it any other way, Im so proud to become his wife I want everyone to know it. But then again I'm pretty old fashion

[Noelle]

I took DH's last name and dropped mine altogether; however, I use it occasionally when talking to people who wouldn't recognize me by my married name! I was like Andrea, and had a bit of hesitation about losing the name I'd had for 24 years, but in the end I went with my original decision to change my name!

[*meghan*]

I am taking his last name and dropping my maiden name. I like my middle name, so I'm definitely keeping it! I'd rather be Meghan Ashley ****** than Meghan Maidenname ****** :heee:

[~Lizzybeth~]

I am dropping my last name entirely and taking his....

[MrsRea]

I just dropped my last name and took his. I did think about it for awhile because I liked my last name and its mine you know. I kinda felt like I was losing apart of myself. But I loved taking his name and its much shorter too!

[*Stacie*]

I am dropping my maiden name completely and taking his.. I really like my full name because it flows and sounds so pretty (Stacie Marie Hailey **the only reason I posted my full name is because it is my step-dad's and I have never legally changed it from my biologial dad's last name, so it isn't my LEGAL name, I just use it**) and taking his which sounds a little more like a sound affect to me :lol: But in all seriousness, I am PROUD to take his name and wouldn't have it any other way ;)

[Kari]

Ya know, I find it really interesting when people say "I am tradtional so I am dropping my maiden name." Where I am from, traditionally, brides drop their middle names and take their maiden name as thier middle name.

[carolinalady67]

I'm changing mine and dropping my maiden name. It is something I've never even considered not doing.

[Alice]

I'm taking his last name & dropping my original one entirely. My last name is short, monosyllabic, & pronounced phonetically, yet people are forever mispronouncing it & adding extra letters where there shouldn't be any. After a liftetime of that, I'm very much looking forward to switching to something short, monosyllabic, & *common*. ;}

Also, we won't be having any kids, so what little loyalty I may have felt toward's my dad's name is completely superfluous.

I like the general idea of keeping your "maiden" name as your middle name, but only in some instances... mostly concerning what the final result will sound like. One of my best friends, f'rinstance, was saddled w/ her mother's maiden name as her middle name... imagine, if you will, a little girl growing up w/ "Hogan" as a middle name. o_O My maiden name would be even uglier as a middle name.

Besides, my middle name is a variation of my mom's first name... and I'm much more attached to her memory than I am to my dad's. :P

[-->Kat<--]

How crazy Ashleybear... my cousin named her daughter Ashley Renee!

I will be taking FH's last name and I've practiced writing it cause I always get comliments on my signature but my new last name will start with an "M" and those are difficult.

[Rebecca]

I am dropping my maiden name and keeping my middle name. My father has never and will never be an influence in my life so I have no problem giving that name up! I am totally traditional and am excited and honored to take on my FH's family name! :happysigh:

[Ally]

Im going to take his last name and drop mine, even though i dont really like the feeling that i will be loosing a part of who i am. I totally agree with the whole tradition of it, but i dont want our families to be mad. FH says that he doesnt care. we have even talked about making a new last name out of both of ours, but couldnt think of anything cool.

[*Stacie*]

Ya know, I find it really interesting when people say "I am tradtional so I am dropping my maiden name." Where I am from, traditionally, brides drop their middle names and take their maiden name as thier middle name.

I have never ever heard of anyone doing that, interesting though. Different parts of the states and Canada do different things. For example, before I came to UW/MLW I have never in my life heard of a groom's cake or Save the Date cards. And when I asked people I knew about them they had no clue either. Different traditions for different places I guess.

[katieandalex]

I'm dropping my maiden name and taking Alex's last name....its much easier to sign! :D

[*meghan*]

Ya know, I find it really interesting when people say "I am tradtional so I am dropping my maiden name." Where I am from, traditionally, brides drop their middle names and take their maiden name as thier middle name.

Same here. All the women in my family (except me soon and my sister) kept their maiden name as their middle name. I wonder if that's a Southern thing....

[~LeAna~]

I will be taking FH last name because I know it's important to him. I can't say I'm all that happy about it because people mispronounce it ALL the time. People mispronounce my first name now but my last name is easy. So now they'll just get the whole thing wrong. It's ok though, I'm pretty much used to it by now!

[Deidre98]

I will be taking FH last name because I know it's important to him. I can't say I'm all that happy about it because people mispronounce it ALL the time. People mispronounce my first name now but my last name is easy. So now they'll just get the whole thing wrong. It's ok though, I'm pretty much used to it by now!

I am with you LeAna! My first name always gets butchered but at least people got my last name most of the time. When I take FH's last name, that will be butchered too. Good thing I am not in school anymore!

[MsJessica07]

Just give your kids easy to pronounce names ;)

[jillian]

My maiden name will become my middle name and I'll take his as my last. My middle name is going buh bye and I won't look back.

[Kya]

I have my maternal grandfather's last name and my fathers. So I am going to part ways with my grandfather(which is hard to swallow), keep my father's and hyphenate it with Marc's.

[Kari]

Same here. All the women in my family (except me soon and my sister) kept their maiden name as their middle name. I wonder if that's a Southern thing....

That is what I thought...except my Gramma was from New York as is my mom and they both did it.

:dunno:

[KathyandJer]

I can't wait to take Jer's name :) My current lastname is my ex-husband's so I can't wait to get rid of it (but it wasn't worth legally changing back to my maiden name after we divorced)! And I still think that Jer's last name will be easier to have people spell than my simple last name :lol:

[mswordwiz]

AS much as I would love to be MRS (DH's) last name, its not happening for work reasons, since we both work in the same field. I need to keep my own for a little while longer.

[lk718]

I'm keeping my last name. I love it and I'm very close to my family.

[JerAndKathy]

And I still think that Jer's last name will be easier to have people spell than my simple last name :lol:

Think again, hunni. LoL

El, ee, ee, dee...
El, ee, aeee?
Nooooo...Open yer ears and listen to what I'm saying! EVERY time. LoL

[HisBlue]

I changed my last name to his and much to my dad's dismay I dropped my maiden name... he fought with me for DAYS about that and STILL tries to get me to do it, but I like my middle name too much and changing my maiden name to my middle name sounded REALLY dorky!

[lmhcmm]

I just had a hard time with parting with the name I had for 23 years!!

I keep thinking that will happen to me . . . only I've had this last name for 36 years (37 when we get married)!!

I'm taking Corey's name and dropping mine. I'd love to keep mine as my middle name but it's a also a male first name so I don't think that would sound good. :sigh: Oh well, a McC**** I'll be. :D

[rowanmayfairs]

Without a doubt or hestitation I will take his last name. My last name is easy to say also. Its my first name everyone has problems with :)

I look forward to becoming Mrs. Crane

[angie]

Even though I like my last name WAY better than his, I will be taking on his last name. Still keeping my maiden name as a second middle name. I don't want to drop it completely. I've had it far too long!

[QueenElizabeth22]

I will be changing my last name, and I am excited to do it...I have always had a really "Non-exciting" haha, last name....and my new one will be very different, in fact, other than his family, I have never met anyone with his last name before! BUT, my intials will be going from BAM to BAG, which everyone finds funny :):lolroll:

[Theresa]

I changed mine. I'd always planned to.

[Marion]

I will be changing mine also.

[carat70]

I changed mine and kept the initial of my maiden name

[Kylie]

I'm planning on it...I've been married for a month though, and haven't done it yet.

[Beth]

I changed mine. I'll admit, I was rather sad to see my maiden name go. I had become rather attached to it. I went from one unpronouncable German last name to another.

**Beth**

[lizaanne]

Too bad this didn't have a poll - but it looks like overwhelmingly going the traditional route.

Me too!! :heee: I'm dropping my maiden name and taking his. We are pretty traditional.

~Liza

[Michelle]

I guess it is a southern thing, because what is most common here is to drop your middle name and take his last name as your own. This is what I plan to do, except that I'm dropping my first name because no one has ever called me Andrea my whole entire life!

I, too, am having a small "identity" crisis when it comes to changing my name. I'm very close with my family, and it seems sad to me that it won't be my name anymore. It's going to be quite difficult for me to handle, I'm sure.

Unfortunately my name and last name will almost rhyme. Most people haven't noticed until I point it out, though, so that's good.

[mswordwiz]

Not changing here. We both work in the same field and this is also a decision he is comfortable with. I will be known as Mrs H after work hours...8)

[Naima]

Yes. I thought about doing the middle name thing, but really. I have a brother, it's not like the name dies with me, and I just don't have that attachment to it anymore.

Not that I've finished changing it all over yet~

[Tanyak]

I'm keeping my name. I like all of my names better than his!:lol: Actually, he has a very pretty Spanish last name, but it's hard for me to announce. As the wedding gets closer, I feel a little weird that I'm not changing anything, and then I think of all the paperwork and I snap back to reality. LOL

[nikkiscott]

There was no thought in this. I always knew that no matter who I married I would take their last name and drop mine altogether. Besides if I kept it I would have a way long last name. 19 letter long with a - in the middle. Also on a good point my initials wont change. Still be NSR

[Vanessaness]

:jump4joy: I cant wait to become Mrs. P*****!!

And dropping my maiden name

[sweetiez]

im actually tinking of two different ways
my name is Amber christine A
But ever since i was little everyone called me Amberlee christine A
I will be taking FH name. i may just lee and christine as middle names but not sure yet. i may just do Amber christine ( and fh last name) who knows haha

[US_UKlove]

My maiden name is too darn hard to spell and pronounce (apparently).

My married name will be Law.

I'll let you guess which one I'll be using. LOL.

[Jaci]

I changed my mind :D

I just tacked his name onto the end of mine (with a space, not a hyphen). That way I can legally use mine, his, or both of our names.

My name is really long now :P But DH's is still longer.

[Bri]

I'll be dropping my last name and picking up FH's last name, no doubt about that one!

My current last name is 9 letters, German/Austrian, and starts with an A... needless to say, the first day of classes ALWAYS sucks because I'm usually first, they butcher my last name (it's really not difficult once you look at it, nikkiana knows my last name), and on top of that I have to ask to be called Bri rather than Brianna.

Dave's last name is three letters, and it still gets butchered! :lol: It was one of those Polish names that was really long but got shortened somewhere along the lines of immigration. But it starts with an R, so at least I won't get called on first anymore! :D

[Vanessaness]

One more time cuz i'm so excited!! Yes I'm changing my name to his!!! :woo:

Ok I feel better now :D

[Scarlett O]

I reluctantly took his name - but now I am glad I did.

[jillian]

I'm taking his name. The first couple of years I didn't want his name at all. Then I discovered that you can change your middle name when you file your marriage license so I'm moving my last name to my middle name and kicking my middle name out completely.

[MostlyMel]

I'll definitely be taking his last name and dropping mine... I always knew I would do it this way, no matter who I marry. But I'm especially excited about it now because I love his last name.

[Stacy]

I'm dropping my name and taking his.

[MrsAbi]

I'm dropping my last name and taking his. I'm going into orthodontics and I can only imagine what I'd be called by patients in braces if I remained a Schmidt.

[CarlaNRobbie]

I have 2 names.

For work I still use my maiden name with all my accounts that I deal with but in my personal life I use my married name. I had to change the way that I sign my name for my married name because I was signing the wrong way in the wrong times. I had my bank account shut off for fraud because of it so hence now I have 2 names and 2 signatures.

If I ever leave this job I will go to just my married name.

[rowanmayfairs]

I took his last name :)

It was never a question of if I would do it :) It was more work than I thought it would be to change everything to my new name, but worth it in the end :)

[Angela]

Can I just say, I wish I had just kept my name?

I did it because he really, really wanted me to. It meant more to him that I change than it did to me to keep mine. But the paperwork has been a nightmare, and I can never seem to remember to use my new name. It took forever to get the marriage license, because, well, my priest can be a dink and didn't mail it until almost 2 weeks after we were married! I love our priest, but COME ON!! I NEEDED that thing way before I actually got it! So I'm still working on getting everything changed over. I'll call a client, or e-mail a client, and use my maiden name. Thankfully, I've been pretty good writing checks though---I've only had to trash one or two!

[Jelly Bean]

I changed my name to his and dropped my maiden name altogether. I did at one stage consider making it one of my middle names because I felt sad loosing my name because I liked it but I already have 2 middle names and it just would have been too much. Now I have a relativly common name but I will spend the rest of my life telling people how to spell it properly. LOL I also wanted to have the same name as the rest of my family.

[Allyson]

I will take Luke's last name and drop my maiden name.

[IneedCaffeine]

I'm taking his name and dropping my maiden name.

[Andrea]

Im with all the traditional ladies. I've lived this long with my boring ole name that It's nice to have a new name :) Im with you Ashley...I can't wait :excited:

[Andrea]

OOOOHHH and with Damian's last name...their a lot less likely to MISSPELL his name then mine...I get height...haydt (how do you get heidt PRONOUNCED height, out of that) Hidit (hide-it) ugh darned telemarketer :hopmad:

[renee]

Tough one...

I have been married twice. I'm quite attached to my name.

The first time I was Renée MiddleName Mylast-Hislast. MAN, did his family flip over that. He comes from a pretty wealthy family (from a trucking company - TNT took them over though, but the family still got royalties for the name) and they were quite snobby and thought I was totally disrespectful. Whatever. When I got divorced Hislast was dropped automatically.

The second time I got married I kept my name completely. BUT, here in NL on tax documents and other "official" forms you become Yourname Middle HISlast-YourLast. ARG. So my tax stuff still says Hislast-Mylast. His was dropped automatically per the divorce decree.

I like my name as dumb and butchered and fun to make jokes about as it is. It's MY name. It's who I am. I'm not proud of my family or something (quite the opposite) but it has nothing to do with them, it's ME.

Anyway, to make a long story longer :lol: For some very odd reason that I have yet to figure out, I would be MORE than HAPPY to become Mrs. G. Maybe it's because, no matter what mistakes I've made, he's REALLY REALLY the one! So, I'm pretty sure I will make MyLast as another Middle name and take his :)

Funnily enough, his name gets butchered as well. We'll always know when a telemarketer is calling :lol:

[Vanessaness]

:woo: I can't wait!

[That Girl]

Heck ya I changed it. I had my old married name until we got married. No way I was keeping that. :heee:

[sarahm08]

I'm hyphenating mine. There is another Sarah FH's Last name, so I don't want to be confused with her.

[Shaylee]

I would think about hyphenating mine with his if it at all sounded good. But it would be too choppy together, and I think when it comes down to it, I'll be glad to take his name. So yes, I'll be chaning my last name.

[septbride]

I taking his name too. No use for mine :)

[US_UKlove]

My maiden name is easy-ish to pronounce, but hardly anyone can spell it.

My married last name has three letters. Surely no one can screw that up! LOL

[Winter_Bride]

I went from a VERY english last name, to his VERY ukrainian last name!! So now with my VERY Irish first name, and his VERY ukrainian last name, I'm spelling both everywhere I go! But I wouldn't have it any other way. It was really important to him that I take his last name, and it's kind of the norm around here anyway :) And my maiden name would sound VERY funny as a middle name!

[bmhetz2]

I am happy and excited to take his last name. I will be going from a phonetic very German last name to a not so phonetic very German last name. I am still on the fence about using my maiden name as my middle name. I have no real connection with my middle name, but my maiden name sounds funny as a middle name.

[jenn2350]

I can't WAIT to take his last name! My last name right now is also a male first name, so people always get confused when I tell them my last name. FH's name is short and simple.

[Kathy]

I thought I'd replied to this already, but I guess not ...

I am definitely taking his last name and completely getting rid of my last name. My name can sound a bit morbid if it's pronounced incorrectly, so I'll be happy to get away from that.

[*Sarah*]

I thought I'd replied to this already, but I guess not ...

I am definitely taking his last name and completely getting rid of my last name. My name can sound a bit morbid if it's pronounced incorrectly, so I'll be happy to get away from that.

I just realized I'm not even sure if I pronounce your last name right!! :giggle:

[Kathy]

think of it as "ee" rather than "ie" ;)

[lilacs]

As a feminist, I will keep my name. Strange story: I was subpoenaed for a court hearing. The defendant (acting as his own lawyer) strides up to me in the witness box:

Him: "You are married to Xyz. But you state your name as Abc."

Me: "Correct."

Him: "You did not take his name."

Me: "And he didn't take mine."

(jurors :laugh3: )

[Winter_Bride]

Lilacs, that is a WONDERFUL story!! :lol:

[laurak83]

I have to give lots of props to the girls who aren't changing their name.

I however will be changing mine. I don't like the way my last name sounds (very german/ethnic sounding) and my fiance has a nice, easy to pronounce but not too common last name. I'm going to be a doctor (in 2 years, scary!) and I'd much rather be Dr. hislast than Dr. mylast.

I mentioned to my sister and mom that I was planning on changing my name. I told them I didn't have any real attachement to our last name, and my sister got really mad at me.

[badluckbunny]

when i was growing up, i used to feel like "zomfg! i have to change my name as soon as possible! NO ONE CAN PRONOUNCE IT!

now, i've gotten used to it, and i like that i will be the only Christina 'mylastname' in the world. (seriously, no ONE has this last name)

his name is very common, but i totally want the neighborhood kids to call me "Mrs. 'hislastname'"

plus, i'm lazy and don't want to do paper work.

ETA: a big, fat, huge, WORD all over lilacs post! i love it!

[~*Kate*~]

I took DH's last name in place of my maiden name. I always planned to hyphenate my married name, but our last names start with the same letter and sound ridiculous together, and his is the better sounding name. Plus my dad said it might be best if his family name dies out with him and his brother anyway. :lol:

[Winter_Bride]

Plus my dad said it might be best if his family name dies out with him and his brother anyway. :lol:

That's... umm... an interesting attitude to have...!

[~*Kate*~]

That's... umm... an interesting attitude to have...!

Well, you've seen my WDS... let's just say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! :lol:

[RDC_girl]

I will change my Last name, there are many male nephews/cousins with my last name so it will not die out,

I have some time to change my mind though lol. Still not engaged!

[flasoxgirl]

I am having a hard time deciding what to do. I am definately taking his last name the question is do I drop my middle name of my maiden name? I don't want to have both. If I keep my middle name my initials will be JEW which FH thinks is hillarious since I am Jewish. The thing is I have hated my middle name as long as I can remember and I don't mind my maiden name, I am just trying to decide if my maiden name sounds funny with his last name.

[jesmendi]

I'm dropping my middle name. I like my middle name because it is pretty but it has attachments to my biological father. So I'm going to replace it with the name my stepfather gave me (my last name). I'm going to miss my middle name some but I think it will be a nice gesture to my step-dad's side of the family to keep their name. Besides, this will be my third last name, so I'm not picky about it!

[Kiera]

It took me such a long time to decide. I really love the way that my last whole name sounds together, and quite honestly, I wasn't too crazy about Jake's last name.

In the end, I decided to change my last name. I don't have a middle name, so my maiden name is becoming my middle name. :)

[Liz&Cailen]

Even though I'm not interested in most traditions, name changing is something I always assumed I would do. To me it seems like a great sign of commitment. It also doesn't hurt that I don't really care for my current last name or my father.

However, FH's mother kept her maiden name so he thinks the opposite. I guess we both are sticking to how we were raised. We haven't really talked about it yet, but I think I over heard his mother ask him about it on the phone and FH said I would keep my name.

We still have over a year to sort everything out, but I was amused at how he made that assumption without talking to me. I guess it's obvious to me that I'll change my name and obvious to him that I wont so we haven't even thought to talk about it yet.

A reason I can see not to change your name is that as more women wait longer to get married, we become more reliant on the reputation built on a name (truer in some businesses more than others). However, I will be starting graduate school after we are married so I feel like I can start over with a new career and new name. I will probably use my last name as my middle name though (don't like middle name either) so I can always use that when I run across pre-marriage acquaintances.

[dolface546]

I go by my middle name now. I won't be dropping my first name even though I don't use it, so my name leagally will be I will be *first name*called name*maiden*hislast. My mother did it this way also. She signs everything legal *called*maiden*last.

Of course this isn't set in stone, I may still drop first name....mmmm wishy washy

[Mel]

i plan to use both last names... either separate or hyphenated (not totally sure on that yet)...
i will use his last name for social stuff and our kids will just have his last name and i'm not going to insist on stuff being addressed to the hyphenated. i just know that i have made a lot of connections with my maiden name and i don't like when ppl have to identify themselves as "first name (maiden) new last name" when sending stuff out... i just want to be who i am.

[Mrs. Bebe]

DH and I hyphenated both our names so we'd still have our name and our new spouse's name. I found it interesting that I was able to add his name to mine without having to file any legal documentation but he could not add mine to his without actually filing to have his name legally changed. Shows the double standards in our society that still exist. Sad.