What's in a name?
At first, it appears as an unsteady scrawl on the cover of a school book or during roll call. As time goes on, it shows up at the header of your resume, printed on your driver’s license, and—if you’re fortunate—scribed on the title of a house.
However, certain individuals might alter that title without fully comprehending the consequences this choice could entail—whether positive or negative.
In the U.S., based on statistics, 80% of married women in heterosexual partnerships opt for taking their spouse's last name, as indicated by research. study from Pew Research Published last year, this trend has shown minimal indications of changing over the past few decades. However, younger individuals aged 18 to 49 were found to be twice as likely as those who are 50 years old and above to retain their initial surname.
In spite of this, 73% of women below the age of 50 decided to adopt their spouse's last name.
And for those individuals, the choice is highly personal – frequently intertwined with career-related factors – according to Michael Bradicich, proprietor of MissNowMrs.com, which has assisted more than 400,000 brides throughout their journey of changing names. Some approach this without much deliberation, eagerly embracing the transition, as Bradicich explained to me. Pawonation.com Those who capitalize on their reputation frequently find themselves pausing.
Ultimately, "their name is a component of their professional journey."
The unforeseen expenses associated with altering your name
Individuals who have chosen to alter their name or possibly distinguish their "professional" identity from their legal one might encounter unforeseen hurdles, as experts explained. Pawonation.com .
For instance, female academics often face challenges when consolidating their research and professional contributions across their maiden and married names—this can lead to potential loss of essential grants, career prospects, or promotions. Similarly, individuals who obtained qualifications or licenses using a former name need to expedite administrative processes to continue working professionally. Meanwhile, those with significant online presence might find themselves losing aspects of their personal branding identity.
Additionally, there's reputation and (hopefully) good will tied to the name that gets displayed on someone's credentials. LinkedIn Page or email authorship — credibility that might require significant time to restore.
Nevertheless, changing one’s last name has several advantages as well. It might help circumvent biases embedded within recruitment or application processes related to race, age, and gender, or provide an extra level of privacy to your personal affairs.
For those seeking a fresh beginning—whether due to personal circumstances or a shift in their professional trajectory—a name change can serve as a kind of online reboot. Additionally, it offers a chance to establish better connections with coworkers and clients.
And, of course, there's the most important reason: A person wants to change their name simply because it makes them happier.
The experts Pawonation.com mentioned that one point was crystal clear: There is no correct or incorrect option. Nonetheless, an educated decision is better.
How changing your name impacts women at work
Bala Chaudhary had never considered her name from a professional standpoint—aside from appending "Dr." to it—until she overheard a male colleague criticizing another scientist for adopting a new last name following marriage.
Chaudhary, who is part of the faculty at Dartmouth University’s environmental studies department, was guided by a distinguished woman scientist whom she refers to as a “pioneer in the industry.” During a visit to an external laboratory, Chaudhary overheard a male coworker expressing frustration about her mentor’s publications being listed with both her married and birth surname, which he found inconvenient for referencing purposes.
It came as a shock to learn that such an esteemed and brilliant scientist faced negative comments due to her name. Given how frequent this type of name change is for women—being one of the most typical occurrences—one would think that among all the challenges women in science encounter, this issue appears rather insignificant,” Chaudhary shared. Pawonation.com.
Chaudhary’s observation—that there is considerable “pressure” against changing one's last name—is consistent with research conducted by Pew. The study revealed that as a woman advances educationally, she becomes less inclined to alter her surname following marriage. Approximately 83% of women holding a high school diploma or lower opted for a name change upon getting married, whereas only 79% of those possessing a bachelor's degree did so. Furthermore, among individuals with advanced degrees, this percentage dropped even lower to 68%.
Name alterations and raising children
Changing one’s last name also signals a transformation in their personal life, which may lead to various presumptions. Chaudhary pointed out that women might want to avoid delving into these topics.
It is often thought that following marriage, couples tend to desire starting a family—a trend supported by statistics—to some extent setting off a widely discussed chain of events concerning women’s professional lives.
A A 2023 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Over half (53%) of the births recorded from 2015 to 2019 were to married women, while approximately an additional quarter (25%) happened for those in cohabitating relationships. According to research conducted by Gladys M. Martinez, PhD, and Kimberly Daniels, PhD, one-fifth of married women had their second child within two years following the birth of their first.
Of course, not all women who marry and change their surname will have kids: They are increasingly happy with a DINK (double income, no kids) lifestyle or are childless not by choice. But the notion remains that outsiders might draw conclusions—incorrectly or not—about how that woman's career will progress if she is a wife and, by association, a future mother.
Chaudhary pointed out this reality in the actual world through the necessity for women to contemplate the consequences of disclosing private information. He mentioned, “Many esteemed female scientist mentors I know wouldn’t utter anything concerning their personal lives since they constantly worried about how such disclosures might affect their professional image.”
Updating your license, passport, and other identification materials
Over his extensive experience assisting newly married women at MissNowMrs.com, Bradicich has observed that the depth of one’s career can impact the extent to which changing their name becomes an issue.
Bradicich launched MissNowMrs.com in 2006 after watching a friend struggle with the mountain of paperwork the name change process entailed. In the nearly two decades since, Bradicich and his team have helped more than 400,000 women with the same issue and said a distinct pattern arises.
"For somebody who’s younger—maybe they’re at college or haven’t started a significant career yet—it really is just government forms that need to be tackled," he explained. "It’s a matter of making sure they’re done directly and in the right order, but that’s very much a procedural problem."
But he continued, "Once you move into a professional world, there are a lot more variables. You have to change your name with payroll. Once you do that it sets the ball rolling with company emails changing, and then you have to worry about professional certifications and licensing. All of that needs to change to stay consistent, otherwise you’re going to run into problems. Depth of professional career is a big factor."
The effect each experience has can also result in an increased understanding of what changing one’s name involves; however, people often still get surprised by this, as Bradicich pointed out.
He mentioned that this perspective is only prevalent among those at the extreme end of the professional spectrum, where individuals trade on their reputation and brand as integral parts of their careers. Pawonation.com When you step back from that, I believe there isn’t much forethought. Individuals often dive right in.
The aspect that often gets overlooked when people travel is starting the process without thinking about the time it will require. You might end up with travel documents, passports, and driver’s licenses that do not align, leading to various complications.
What benefits can you get from changing your last name? It offers a clean beginning.
A name change can essentially hit "reset" in our perpetually connected society and also provides an extra level of privacy, according to Jamie White, an Ireland-based life coach and business mentor. Pawonation.com .
White, who has guest lectured at his nation's top universities such as Trinity College and Dublin City University, is increasingly seeing individuals using their name "strategically."
He explained: "In a digital age where everything is tracked, by the time somebody gets to a professional level or perhaps their career’s evolved, there’s a whole track record. So it can be very advantageous to say, ‘New career, new name, new me.’ It can be a digital whitewash."
This can be particularly handy for those seeking greater privacy online as well. Consider the educators who aim to conceal their social media presence from curious students peering in.
Using a long-term perspective, changing the name might offer a workaround for the biases inadvertently embedded within educational and recruitment processes. For instance, a 2023 research paper from the University of Michigan Reviewing 30 million records revealed that students whose surnames fell in the latter half of the alphabet (from K to Z) received lower grades when ranked alphabetically compared to being evaluated through random grading methods.
Similarly, students whose names begin with letters from A to E were more likely to receive higher grades compared to the randomly selected group. The research indicates that this bias can significantly impact a student’s future career prospects over time; however, additional obstacles have also emerged within hiring systems.
An ongoing study from the United Kingdom's King’s College London—which analyzes more than 12,000 job applications—found international discrimination is still alive and kicking. It revealed applicants with English names received approximately 27% of the positive responses for leadership roles while non-English names received less than half of that, at 11.3%.
While a change to outwit such bias is a damning reflection of hiring processes, White has encountered other (more positive) strategic decisions. The coach helps teach other people his craft, and said differentiating one's legal and professional name—“almost like a stage name”—can be massively helpful.
"A big part of coaching is putting [yourself] out there, but people have a real block about doing that as they are: on their existing socials and platforms, to their existing friends," White explained. "Generally the crutch they lean on is that they change their name. As soon as they changed their name it was like taking the chains off—especially the more established professional types who gave themselves a new facade online to detract from the past."
Should I change my last name after marriage?
In the end, the sole aspect that truly counts regarding a name change is whether the person desires it.
While individuals alter their names for numerous reasons, White suggested that the most straightforward method to reduce any misunderstandings in a professional environment caused by external parties is to transparently communicate the choice.
It could simply involve posting a "reintroduction" message on social media platforms, or including a note in your email signature alerting recipients about your potential upcoming display name change.
He stated, “In business, individuals interact with other individuals. These professionals tend to see corporate facades and scripted behaviors as cold, distant, and hard to engage with. They believe that genuine connections resonate most deeply. Therefore, when someone shares openly within this typically tough environment, it will ultimately draw others closer over time.”
Ultimately, there isn’t a correct or incorrect choice here," said Bradicich. "This is quite an individual call, yet it would be wise to talk about it with your loved ones, such as your family, significant other, or close buddies.
The needle is also changing across the board, added Chaudhary—a necessary conversation that has been a long time coming.
"The ultimate feminist decision is to have complete choice and to be able to change the decision any time you want," the academic said. "The message when I was a student was, 'Decide now and lock it in.' There should be flexibility.
"One of the things that's happening already is that women are coming together and talking in formal and informal spaces. I have a few different women-only Slack groups of scientists…and the name change conundrum is discussed all the time. So the whisper network is working.
She noted that discussions amongst female scientists are underway. The subsequent phase involves incorporating these insights into mentoring programs. This means bringing those conversations into laboratories, integrating them into faculty gatherings, as well as involving them in search committees.
A variant of this tale was initially released on Pawonation.com on June 22, 2024.
This tale was initially showcased on Pawonation.com
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