AisleDash

Women today have more choices than ever when it comes to married names. You can keep your maiden name, take your husband's name, hyphenate, or take a whole new last name if you want. And he can change his name, too. It's nice to have options, and it's a good thing, too, because there are all sorts of problems that you may never have considered when it comes to changing your name after marriage -- or not.

This article raises all sorts of interesting questions and dilemmas people face when it comes to whether or not to change their names -- and to what?

For example, women in academia who have published under their maiden name may have trouble if they switch names mid-career. Many women, including several of us here at AisleDash, choose to use different last names for professional and personal purposes, but that can be a drag, too. When you juggle names, you often have trouble with hotel reservations, mail delivery, and tax forms, to name a few things.

And what about your kids? Do you hyphenate? Pick one name? Make up something new? Give two different kids two different last names? It's your choice, but you're going to have a lot more to think about than you probably imagined. How did you decide what your married name would be?