Graduate Degree and name change

[zhuzhu]

For those ladies with graduate degrees, how did you deal with the last-name change issue when you get married? My wedding will not happen until after I have already received my PhD degree, and for the sake of publication continuiety, I would like to keep my original last name legally. My finace is not in the academia and he is not all that happy about my preference.

It is also difficult to explain why it's important for me to keep my family name.

Has any of you experienced the similiar soituation? Thanks!!!

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Well, I only have a master''s degree (which I got years before I got hitched) but I ended up taking my husband''s name and just tacking it on to my maiden name. So I''m First Name Middle Name Maiden Name Married Name. It took me about 6 months to make that change, and even after I did, I remained known my maiden name at work. I never did change it, until I changed jobs and now I''m known as Kerri Maiden Name Married Name. No hypen. My husband was fine with me keeping my maiden name for work. I confuse myself often though b/c outside of work, all three of my name variations are used. Guess I don''t really have a solution for you though...sorry!

 

[San Diego Bride]

i had the same question/concern. i am going to hypenate. i''m not sure if this is the perfect solution, but it seemed like a good compromise. i''ll still be alphabetized under my maiden name initial so the name would still come up on a search and i''ll still have the same name that''s on my degrees (with just a little extra added on). i think i''ll just have more options this way.

 

[Snooper]

I received my Master''s 6 months before I got married. What''s somewhat frustrating is that no one knows of my current work with my married name, and it has taken a while to do so... Let us know what you''re doing.

 

[Snooper]

Novia, I had too thought of hypenating my name...

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I kept my maiden name and hence my publications are in the same. However, something come to mind: you might be able to place your maiden name in parenthesis in the spot where your academic affiliation is named--you know right underneath the paper''s title/followed by the authors; also depending on the publication, often there is room at the bottom of the first page where asterisc''ed stuff is denoted (*corresponding author''s, *abbreviations, etc) and perhapsyou could put your maiden name there.

Is not hypenating your name a legal name change and hence you have to use it everywhere not just for publishing? Good luck!

cheers--Sharon

 

[CJS924]

Well...no graduate degree yet, but I do have scientific publications under my maiden name. I always knew that I would take my husbands'' name...so it was never an issue with me. It might take a bit of explaining to some though.

 

[FireGoddess]

I was in the same situation. I said that if I married before publishing, I''d change names, but if not, I was keeping my name. I published several years before finding my husband. Therefore, I publish under my maiden name, and legally I have hyphenated my name. I have a long last name and it''s not the best for hyphenating, but that was the compromise I was willing to make.

A friend of mine in the same situation just kept her maiden name professionally as well as legally. Her husband is a scientist too and doesn''t care.

A former professor of mine just publishes under her maiden name, but outside of work she is known by her married name.

You have lots of options!!

 

[regalada]

I got married almost a year after getting my Ph.D. I already had a hyphenated name so I dropped my second last name and added his after the hyphen. He did not influence my choice but is happy that I chose to add his.

So far the compromise has worked for me. My colleagues can still locate me by my first and maiden name, and my publications can still be associated with my new name.

People we met since we got married just skip over my maiden name and calls us "the HisLastNames" and it does not bother me at all

.

Good luck making your decision!

 

[saturn]

I''m in the same position as you. I''m planning to make my maiden name my middle name, and then take his name as my last name, a la Hillary Rodham Clinton.

But professionally, I will still use my maiden name. Your professional name can be different from your legal name.

 

[eleguin]

I just got my JD last week and am planning to get married sometime next year. I don''t plan to have my school issue me a new diploma in my married name though. I don''t see the need to do that, although if I get any future degrees after being married, I will probably have my married name on those diplomas. I don''t think there''s anything wrong with keeping your maiden name on an academic degree, especially one you earned before being married. You can always change your name legally, but still keep your maiden name professionally/academically.

 

[JCJD]

I''m going to have a pub from my undergrad research (someday...), which I''ll publish under FirstName MI Maiden. I''ve legally changed my name to his (ours!) and now I''ll publish everything under FirstName MI Maiden-MarriedLastName. I have seen in the literature women who started publishing as Jane M. Doe, got married and published as Jane M. Doe Smith, and after several publications with the new name, started publishing as Jane M. Smith, or Jane M. D. Smith. The way I see it, no matter what you have on your SS card, you can have whatever you want on your office door, so why should your papers be any different? Zhuzhu, if you''re not against changing your last name legally for any reason other than publishing, why not just publish under your maiden name and change it legally? I don''t think journals are going to start asking for a copy of your driver''s license with your manuscript submission anytime soon.

 

[tanuki]

My first marriage I decided to keep my maiden name.
He didn''t have a problem with it. Maybe we subconsciously knew it wasn''t going to work out.
As it turned out, that was one less form I had to fill out when we split up two years later.

My second marriage I decided to hyphenate and after less than a year I just simplified it to my married name.
We''re still married. Older and wiser.

However, I did know someone in academics who was still going by her FIRST married name (not her maiden name) in practice and for publishing purposes even though she divorced the first guy years ago and had married someone else. Which I would have hated.

So my advice to you is keep the hyphen for a while just in case.

 

[glaucomflecken]

I just went through this same dilemma!

I was not married when I graduated, so I spent 3+ years as Dr Maiden Name so its really stuck, all my colleagues know me by this name, and I am licensed and credentialled in this name. I wanted to take his name for my personal life, but I didnt want to hyphenate.

So what I did was dropped my birth given middle name (which was sad because I liked it) legally and use my maiden name as my middle, and took his name as my last. I am still Dr Maiden Name in clinic, Mrs Married name at home, and when I have professional publications or anything, I use my whole name, Dr First Maiden Married last. That way people still know its me, yet they also know I am married! And I like how three names sound, it seems so "grown up" and "professional" to me. Its been easy too with all the bank screw ups and other things where I have still been addressed by my old last name.

let us know what you decide to do!

 

[jadeleaves]

I use my married name professionally, but my maiden name on the law register. I don''t have any problems with that because I am not a practicing legal counsel at the moment as my business is in another field.

 

[lizz]

Well, this happened to my friend, who is getting a Ph.D. She kept her maiden name legally, but for social things, she likes to be known as: her maiden name, hyphen, his last name.

 

[zhuzhu]

Honestly I do not want to change my last name because 1) publications - my first name is already confusing (for search purpose) since some shows me by my chinese name and others go by my english name, I think keeping the same last name will be important, 2) I have a little problem accepting the historical reason for the practice of last name change.. While my children will of course take the father''s last name, I am not certain the wife needs to "change her identity" by marriage.

The issue I am having is how to convince my FI without stepping on his ego

. Can you suggest some gentle approach to go about that??

 

[sydneycasandra]

zhuzhu,

That''s a tough situation. Does he want you to change your last name both professionally and personally, or just for personal purposes? What really matters here is what you want to do but of course you need to take his feelings into consideration (as you are obviously doing.) I can entirely understand that you want to keep your maiden name, especially for professional purposes; could you try explaining to him how important your family name is to you, and while you can still of course be "The Smiths" or whatever, you''d also like to pay homage to your family and cause less confusion (d/t chinese + english name confusion already in existance) by you staying as zhuzhu Jones? As others have suggested, what about hyphenating for personal use "Zhuzhu Jones-Smith", no change at all for professional (although perhaps it''d be easier if you started having all publications listed in one name; either zhuzhu jones or your english name, Amy Jones or whatever)? Or as some have also suggested, using your maiden as your middle or taking two, unhyphenated last names?

Another thought would be to *legally* add his last name onto yours, becoming Zhuzhu Jones Smith, but keeping most of your personal stuff that doesn''t matter (where you don''t have to show ID) as Jones and using Jones informally? Might be complicated but it could be a compromise.

If it''s of any help in deciding, I am in a similar situation, although I have not graduated yet (med school) I have enough professional contacts to already cause some confusion. I never had a middle name, but rather a hyphenated first name (confusing!) I was (for example):

Lauren-Elizabeth Williams
but now I am Lauren-Elizabeth Williams Taylor
but some people from my childhood call me Elizabeth and or Liz b/c my mom''s first name is Lauren and it was confusing growing up
some people call me Lauren-Elizabeth (only a few)
some people call me just Lauren (most people, and everyone I''ve known since I started college)
BUT,
I get mail for Lauren-Elizabeth Williams, Lauren Williams, Elizabeth Williams, Liz Williams, Lauren-Elizabeth Williams Taylor, Lauren E Williams (which is incorrect), Lauren-Elizabeth Williams Taylor, Lauren-Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Taylor, Lauren Williams Taylor and just about EVERY OTHER combination you can think of. On any given mail day it''s almost a given that each piece of mail is addessed differently!

When writing my name on important stuff I always use Lauren-Elizabeth Williams Taylor; for stuff where that won''t fit that is professionally-related, I use Lauren Williams Taylor; for stuff where it''s just easier to go with simplicity I use Lauren Taylor. Confused yet?

So, zhuzhu, in essence it is possible to have about 20 convolutions of your name; I haven''t had anyone lose me yet, so do what makes you happy!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I do think that there is some significance to taking the same name...two becoming one, that sort of thing. Yes, it is tradition, but I do think it signifies commitment for a lifetime. The father, mother, and children share the family name.

BUT, professionally I think it is totally great to go by maiden name in the middle or hypenated such as the example already given: Hillary Rodham Clinton or Hillary Rodham-Clinton....especially when the maiden name has name recognition already.

 

[froufrou]

for my first publication i am third author on a paper that we keep submitting to journals and should be published any minute! id better get engaged and married before then so i can take his name !!!!!! he''s got like, 6 months left. haha.

i think i like the idea of everyone in the new family having the same last name. i would hate to have a different last name than my children, i always thought mothers who had different last names as their children made it complicated. then everytime you have to talk to a schoolteacher about your child you have to do the "Hi, I''m Mrs. Green, Amy White''s mother" or whatever. plus if i didnt take his name id feel like id still be figuratively leaning towards alignment with my parents and that family as opposed to starting the new family. if that makes any sense.

maybe you can just make your maiden name your middle name. thats probably what ill end up doing.

 

[flopkins]

I am in the same boat as you zhuzhu, I do not want to change my name, it is important to me to have my research published under my maiden name, and I want my graduate degree in my maiden name too.

However, I don''t really care much if I am known socially as mrs. married name...

I don''t know, DH really wants me to change my name, but I don''t want to. I might change it after we have kids, for the family thing, or after I finish school.

 

[zhuzhu]

I feel the same way as flopkins, I do not mind changing name socially, but NOT professionly or legally. In fact women do not change thier last name to follow husband's in my home country, that's may be why I do not see the significance of doing so except to boost men's ego.... I will just have to sweet talk FI into believing that it does not hurt a thing....

 

[flopkins]

Date: 6/1/2006 11:05:01 PM
Author: zhuzhu
I do not see the significance of doing so except to boost men''s ego....

This is totally the reason DH wants me to change to his name, at least, *I* think that''s his ultimate motivation. Which, I think, is partly the reason I DON''T want to change!! heeh. Yeah I''m a rebellious brat...

 

[tmdblue]

Hmm interesting question about the name change. I''m working on my MBA and my honey and I will be wed in September. I will be taking on his last name which is fine since I am not required to publish articles in my program. My MBA degree will reflect my married name as well. Also I''m in my mid 20''s and I haven''t exactly established a name for myself professionally anyways. I guess it''s all contingent upon where you are in your life professionally when you are found by Mr. Right. I''m glad that I won''t have to hyphenate my name but I completely understand why it is sometimes necessary.

tmdblue

 

[jaysonsmom]

I received my M.S. a few 3 months before my wedding, and I took a huge risk by hyphenating and adding my future husband''s name to the diploma. I didn''t have any publications though, so my situation was different. My graduate diploma is the only document with my hyphenated name. After we got married I dropped my maiden name altogether, so I don''t even know if my hyphenated diploma is even valid!