Changing Your Name

The closer I get to my wedding day, the more I think about the things that are going to change after we say ‘I do’. I’m not expecting something major to shift in me and for me to start acting in new and strange ways, but I do expect my attitude towards my other half to change slightly given that we’ve made such a massive commitment to each other. One of the things that has been on my mind a fair bit recently is the change in my name. I have no problem with it being assumed that a woman who is entering into marriage will automatically change her name to match that of her new husband’s, however, I do think about the fact that I will miss my current surname terribly. I have an unusual surname, which I love and which, I believe, is so much a part of who I am – the fact that I feel like my whole identity will change once I take on a new one makes me kinda sad. Yes, it will be lovely to be a Mrs to my guy’s Mr and for us to share the same name as our future children, but I also feel like it’s a bummer that I’ll never be known by my previous name again. It’s especially defining in our family, where there are three daughters – our family surname will go no further than our generation once we’re all married – and that’s such a shame. I have massive respect for those ladies who choose to keep their birth name even after they get married, and can really see how it can be a positive thing tied to your identity as a person. Whatever each woman decides to do with her name once she ties the knot, it’s a big deal and something that should be thought about as being an individual decision, rather than something that is simply assumed to be correct one way or the other. I know it’s definitely a big one for me.