Mr. Muse asked me awhile back, “if we got married, would you change your name or do you think that would be too much of a professional handicap?” Good question (and no, we are not engaged … yet). On the one hand, I already have the domain susan-johnston.com and hundreds of clips published under my maiden name. But “Susan Johnston” is one of the most generic names on the planet, and I have several googlegangers (a few of them are also writers and one of them keeps getting email intended for me).
If I took Mr. Muse’s more unusual surname and bought a new domain, it might make me more distinctive. Or it could add to the confusion. I came to the conclusion that I’d probably become one of those professional women with two last names: Susan Johnston ______. (Don’t want to jinx it with a premature announcement.) That way I’d maintain some association to my pre-wedding self, but also avoid the confusion of being married but not sharing the same last name (I hear it gets even harrier when kids are involved).
I know other writers who have completely shed their maiden name (and waited until after the wedding to set up their website) or stuck with it as if nothing had changed. Another creative couple even switched around a few letters and came up with a new last name (both of them had theirs legally changed).
OK, writers. How did you deal with this situation? Did you alert editors and clients about your new name, hyphenate it, keep the same byline as before, or come up with another creative solution? I’d love to know!
Flickr photo courtesy of Lauri Väin
This is such an interesting question, and one that — in the end — I didn't have to grapple with too much. I mean, I had published some stuff pre-marriage, but most of it wasn't what I'd consider a big deal. My freelance career began really taking off after I got married, when I went onto my husband's health insurance and quit my publishing job to go full-time freelance.
Also: So many people had problems with my maiden name! Pekarsky. It was a relief to change it.
In your case, I wouldn't worry about confusing editors, but I would consider all of your readers, considering how strong of a platform you've built. I sort of like the idea of two last names. And I love that your boyfriend seems understanding of the fact that you might not want to automatically take his last name.
I'm interesting in hearing of how other writers have handled this.
I got married in April and found those in my full-time job (I write part-time) confused when I began to used solely my married name the week after the wedding. It quickly led to the decision that I would use both maiden and married names in both my full-time work and part-time freelancing (thus I became Kat Hasenauer Cornetta). This way, people can find me with either name. It helps that both names are pretty distinctive.
So far, my editors understand – I work within a particularly small freelancing community right now (I write about lacrosse, college baseball and college hockey), so news of my wedding and subsequent name change traveled quickly.
I think it totally is a individual decision for everyone, and I'm happy that I was able to quickly find a resolution that worked in my professional life.
I didn't have a writing career prior to marriage, but I did have a degree and several other qualifications at that point. I just made my maiden name my legal middle name and it's worked perfectly for me – even with immigration officials in more than one country. I figure that's saying something!
I kept my maiden name because 1) I already had a professional identity, 2) it meant less paperwork, and 3) I like my name better.
Plus, if in the future I ever want to keep people from my past from being able to find me, I'll always have the option to change it then.
This is a fabulous post for sure! The topic came up recently with a group of academic Ph.D. who all 100 percent were against the name change as they have published papers under that name, and maybe in academic circles, it's that big of a deal, but I changed my name because it really is simpler from my point of view. I had been a staff writer/editor for about 5 years when I got married. For a year, I did 'Ashley Williams Richardson' as I had been 'Ashley G. Williams' because my first and last name are uber common as well. After that first year, I transitioned to 'Ashley G. Richardson' without too many issues. I still occasionally write under my maiden name. The name change process isn't so terrible that it takes weeks and weeks, and honestly, the big things were easy; it's items like frequent flyer accounts that were especially painful to me.
One of the wonderful things about being a freelance writer is that you're allowed to write under a Pen name. Even if you legally change your last name to match your husbands, there's nothing wrong with continuing to publish under your maiden name. I know at least one writer who does it.
Fascinating the amount of thought that goes into this decision. Several people on Facebook pointed out the political ramifications of a name change, too. I think using the maiden name as a pen name is a good potential solution; however, you'd have to be clear about how the company should address your check or else I'm afraid you might run into issues cashing it!
This was an issue for me. I'd written a book under my own name and wanted it to be obvious it was mine. My husband, who's also a writer, had written a couple of published technical books under his own name. I thought we'd hyphenate our family name and keep our professional names separate, particularly for books.
Unfortunately, it turned out there's already a sci fi writer out there with my husband's name.
So now I write under my own name, he writes under our hyphenated name, and some complete stranger writes under our obvious third choice.
It's a weird world.
Susan, I married fairly young, but I did what Beth did and kept my maiden name as my legal middle name, something my grandmother had advised (her father had been a judge). It was too long to use both last names all the time, so I ended up just using my middle initial and (new) last name. However, all these years later, I'm excited to be "reviving" my maiden/middle name by using it in my official title for my new company. So I'm still Roxane B. Salonen, but my company name is Beauclair Communications. The fact that Beauclair means clear and beautiful makes it all the more meaningful as a communications professional who strives to form beautiful and clear ideas for her clients. This whole subject is no small deal for most of us women. But I have to say, I like that our family all has the same last name. It's all worked out quite well. But I like that my name will be coming "back" through my work.
I would hyphenate my last name with his professionally, but take his last name legally.
I went ahead and changed my name. There were lots of people out there with my maiden name, so it wasn't that big of a deal. I'd been doing the freelance thing for about a year at that point and I'd had several bylines with my maiden name.
On my website, you can see how I handled it, it says "as Ronda Roberts" on my publications list and CV. It's really not a big deal, and after I changed my last name my business seemed to pick up as well…
I actually started my writing career after I got married. I always knew however that I would keep my maiden name and add on my husband's last name, so I'm one of those women with two last names. It's worked perfect so far! This was an issue I had been really frustrated about before I got married, but when I made my decision to keep both names it felt like the right decision and I felt comfortable and content.
Thanks to everyone who weighed in!
@Roxane: that sounds like the perfect name for your business! Glad to hear it worked out.
I've been married 30 years with three kids and I never changed my name. Once in a while there is some confusion about whether or not my husband and I are legally married, but I think that's mostly because we live in a rural area where people are pretty traditional. It's not a big deal with the kids. So many of their friends have "blended" families that people aren't surprised to find a mother with a different name. Once in a while I find myself explaining that it's not a divorce thing, but mostly I don't care. I always answer to "Mrs. R." when people assume, although sometimes I forget…
The worst problem is the title and that comes up very seldom. But I don't like being called Mrs. A (maiden name) because it's just not correct, so once in a while I have to use "Ms." and people resist that. But how often do we use the title in our daily lives? I'm mostly just Lynn.
My husband has never liked me keeping my maiden name and even after all these years he complains now and then. But after all these years, we know many women who did change their name only to change it back after a divorce. Some of them are on their third or fourth name change.
I'm still the same person and I still have the same name, even after all these years!
Like the chicken and the egg, this is a which came first kind of question . . . "The person or the name?" I had just completed my college education when I got married, only to take my husband's name on his insistance. And somehow it was as if the old me that worked so hard, didn't get the pleasure of putting the credentials behind my own name. Then many years later, I changed careers to being an artist and writer. Now after 30 years, I am divorced, and everytime someone calls me by my married name,(it's how I signed all my writing and artwork) it's as if part of me still belongs to him. It is too complex and time consuming to explain yet another name change. I have worked hard to get where I am now. And it is funny though, when I am out with my now significant other, people automatically assume that we share his last name. If I had to do it over, I'd keep my own name or always use my own professionaly and the married name only casually socially.
I was 29 when I first married, and a daily newspaper reporter with a byline associated to a high-profile beat, so I didn't change my name. My first husband didn't mind, and when the marriage ended three years later, it certainly was a lot easier that I hadn't changed it.
I didn't remarry for 10 1/2 years and by that time, I was 42 and too established to change my name. My second (and final, he's quick to say) husband) would have liked for me to change my name, but he understood. We adopted a child two years ago who already was in school (and took my husband's surname), so for simplicity's sake, I generally introduce myself to her friends, their parents, and school teachers and staff with my married surname.
With the benefit of hindsight, my advice is: DON'T. CHANGE. YOUR. NAME. It's one of the only things that can be yours from birth to death.
Luckily I'm going out with a Spanish man, so as the tradition goes, when I marry him I'll keep my surname! For me that's totally cool, especially since many people comment on what a great writer's name I have. Hoorah! I'll be Keidi Keating all the way…