1. Take on your husband's last name (Traditional)
2. Hyphenate the two last names (Practical)
3. Keep your maiden name (Sentimental)
4. Create a new name from both last names (Functional)
When I got married I chose to hyphenate my last name with my husband's for two reasons. One reason was because I had worked very hard to get my education and build my career and up until the time I was married all of my degrees and certificates were in my maiden name. In my profession (social work) I had built a good reputation and was known by my maiden name. For practical reasons I didn't want to confuse anyone or have to re-establish myself in the field and go by a new last name so I chose to hyphenate my name because when you do that you are free to use either name as needed. Which leads to reason number two, privacy!! Because I am in the field that I am, I like to keep my professional life separate from my personal life. I use my husband's last name for all personal matters with friends and family, home expenses and bills, identification (driver's license, passport, etc.). Our children will also have this last name so not to be easily identified by those that I work with as a social worker. For me it was the most practical solution to maintaining my identity as a professional and creating a new identity as a family.
If you are still undecided about how you would like to handle the decision of a name change when you get married you can check out some of these links that may be able to provide some insight and suggestions.
7 Reasons Married Women Keep Their Last Name
Hyphenating Your Last Name After Marriage
Should Women Change Their Last Names After Marriage?
Reasons to Legally Change Your Name
Top 5 Reasons Hyphenated Names Are Awesome
So now you have made a decision... or maybe you are already married and are wondering where to begin with the name change process. I've come across an Easy solution for Canadian brides and brides-to-be... easynamechange.ca where you can find a name change checklist help guide you through the process of changing your name. It can be a daunting task to change your name over on various paperwork. For me I didn't have to change everything over but even the idea of sitting down and coming up with a list of what I needed to do to change my name was enough to make me put it off for a year... literally!! I procrastinated big time however, had I of known about easynamechange.ca I likely would have got on top of it sooner.
With easynamechange.ca you can simply use the website to gather information and use their handy checklist OR, you can save time and the headache of making all the phone calls and tracking down forms to fill out and send to all the offices to change you name by using one of the DIY packages for changing your name!! They offer basic, standard, and premium packages all at a reasonable price for Canadian residents to change their name after marriage. If by chance you have been previously married and need to complete paperwork for a divorce and separation name change easynamechance.ca can help you as well :)
Make life simpler...
