8 out of 10 women change their name after marriage—they might not realize the impact it has on their careers, work relationships, and job prospects

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What's in a name?

In the beginning, it's a random marks on the front of a schoolbook, or shouted out in attendance. Later in life, it appears at the top of a resume, printed on a driver's license and—if you're lucky—signed on the deed to a house.

Some people might change that title without a full understanding of how the decision could affect them for better or worse.

It's a trend that has shown few signs of wavering over the past couple of decades, but those under 50 years old keep their original last name more often than those 50 and above two times.

Let me know if you'd like me to paraphrase anything else

People who are known for trading on their name will often take a break.

Ultimately, "their name is an integral part of their profession."

8. One final word: Getting used to a new name will take some time.

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For example, women in academics face challenges in gathering their work under both their maiden and married names, and this can result in losing important funding, opportunities, or promotions. Similarly, professionals who obtained certifications or licenses under a different name must quickly update their paperwork to continue practicing, and those with a valuable online presence may lose some of their professional reputation.

A page or email byline showing that our reputation will take a while to improve.

Changing one's last name can provide several advantages. It may enable individuals to outsmart biases in hiring or application processes based on race, age, or gender. It could also offer an added layer of privacy in personal life.

For those seeking a fresh start - whether it's a personal decision or a career change - a name change can also serve as a digital rebirth. Additionally, it presents an opportunity to establish stronger connections with colleagues and clients.

Of course, the most significant reason for someone to change their name is that it brings them a sense of happiness.

It's stated unequivocally that there is no definitive right or wrong answer. A well-informed decision is, nonetheless, a preferable option.

The effect of changing your name on women in the workplace

Bala Chaudhary gave little thought to her name in a professional context—other than adding "Dr."—until she heard a male peer grumbling about a fellow scientist changing their surname after marriage.

Dr. Chaudhary, who works at Dartmouth University's environmental studies department, was mentored by a highly respected female scientist at the time. During a visit to another research lab, Dr. Chaudhary overheard a male colleague expressing frustration because her mentor's papers were listed under both her married and maiden names, which made it more complicated to find her work.

It was surprising to hear a highly respected and brilliant scientist talked about negatively because of her name, especially when considering all the common name changes she experienced—it seemed one aspect, the most prevalent among them, was an unusually petty reason to deal with as a woman in science.'

Chaudhary's experience, that "there's a lot of pressure" not to change your surname, fits with what another study found: The more education a woman has, the less likely she is to change her name after getting married. For women who only have a high school diploma or equivalent, 83% change their names. Among those with a bachelor's degree, this number drops to 79%. But at the graduate school level, this number decreases even further, to 68%.

Recognizing that changes to surnames after marriage aren't as common as they used to be, some individuals and couples are reconsidering their approach. A recent survey indicates that among men and women in their 20s and 30s, a quarter of the men and about 2 out of 5 women do not change their surname when getting married. This trend is partly driven by the increasing prevalence of women with careers and a means of financial independence, as well as changing attitudes towards equality between partners. Surprisingly, even couples where the woman's career takes a backseat after marriage show a similar trend, where the woman retains her own surname.

A surname change can also indicate a significant change in an individual's private life, which could lead to a series of assumptions. Chaudhary noted that this might be a conversation women in particular would rather avoid.

It's often assumed that after getting married, a couple will want to start a family, which is partly reflected in the data, leading to a ripple effect that impacts women's careers.

More than half (53%) of births from 2015 to 2019 occurred to married women, with nearly 25% occurring to women who are cohabiting with someone. Research by Gladys M. Martinez, PhD, and Kimberly Daniels, PhD, also found that about 20% of married women had a second child within 24 months of the birth of their first child.

It's often assumed that someone who isn't a parent by choice may be judged by outsiders about her career trajectory, simply because she might be a future wife and mother.

Research shows that this issue is actually happening in real life, Chaudhary explained, since even many women have to think twice about sharing personal details: "I have many admired and respected women scientist mentors who would never mention their personal lives, ever, because they were always worried about how they would be perceived by others in a professional setting."

In many countries, government-issued identification documents like driver's licenses, passports, and other forms of identification, must be updated periodically.

In his years working with new brides, one thing has become apparent to Bradicich of MissNowMrs.com: The depth of a person's career can impact the extent of the problems associated with a name change.

Bradecich created MissNowMrs.com in 2006 after seeing a friend overwhelmed by the extensive paperwork required for a name change. Over the past nearly two decades, Bradecich and his team have aided more than 400,000 women with the same problem and noted a recurring pattern.

For someone who is younger—maybe they're still in college or just beginning their career—it's mainly about filling out government forms," he explained. "It's a matter of making sure they're completed directly and in the right order; that's really a matter of getting through the paperwork process.

He added, "Once you enter the professional workforce, there are many other factors to consider. You need to update your name on your payroll information. Once you do that, it sets a chain reaction - your company email address will change, and you'll also need to update any professional certifications or licenses you hold. All of this needs to be updated in order to avoid any issues downstream. The complexity of a professional career is a significant consideration."

The effect per event also leads to a corresponding awareness of what a changed name means, though people still often find themselves surprised, said Bradicich.

When you get away from that, I think there's not a lot of thinking considered. People tend to rush in headfirst.

People often overlook the challenges that can arise when traveling, specifically when they start the process without thinking about the time it will take. They may acquire travel documents, such as passports and driver's licenses, that don't match, resulting in a multitude of complications.

What are the advantages of changing your last name? Getting a new start

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White, who has given guest lectures to the top universities in his home country, including Trinity College and Dublin City University, is now more often seeing people using his name as a deliberate tactic.

He said: "In today's digital world where everything is being tracked, by the time someone reaches a professional level or their career has advanced, there's a whole record of their past activities. So, starting over in a career can essentially be a digital cover-up."

It's also a useful tool for people seeking a bit more anonymity online. Just ask teachers trying to keep their social media profiles hidden from prying eyes of students.

An investigation of 30 million records revealed that students with surnames in the second half of the alphabet (letters K through Z) received lower grades on average when their scores were listed alphabetically rather than in random order.

Students with initials at the beginning of the alphabet (A to E) consistently received higher grades than those in a random sample. According to the study, this bias has a "prominent long-term effect on a student’s career," and additional obstacles have been found in recruitment platforms.

A recent study by King's College London, which looked at over 12,000 job applications, discovered that international bias still exists in hiring practices. The research found that job applicants with English names were given positive responses for leadership positions about 27% of the time, while those with non-English names received less than half that rate, at approximately 11.3%.

While changing this bias is a strong indication of the problems with hiring processes, White has also seen other coaching decisions that are more positive. The coach helps others learn his skills, and says that distinguishing one's professional name from one's legal name, "almost like a stage name", can be very beneficial.

A big part of coaching is putting yourself out there, but people have a real difficulty about doing that as they are: on their current social media and platforms, to their existing friends," White explained. "Generally, what they rely on is changing their name. As soon as they change their name, it's like shedding a mask—especially for more established professionals who give themselves a new online image to draw attention away from their past.

Should you change your last name after marriage?

At the end of the day, the only factor that really makes a name change happen is the person's personal decision to change it.

And while people change their names for various reasons, it's said that the easiest way to prevent confusion in a corporate environment brought on by outside factors is to be transparent about the decision.

That could be as straightforward as posting a "reintroduction" message on social media, or adding a note in an email signature telling people that your display name might be changing soon.

He said, "People work with people, and they don't find these professional facades and put-on performances appealing. They consider them inauthentic, detached, and hard to relate to. They believe that nothing resonates more strongly than authenticity, so if someone opens up in a more vulnerable setting, like business, it will ultimately bring people in."

There's no right or wrong choice," Bradicich said. "It's a very personal choice, but one that you should definitely discuss with your family, partner, or friends.

The needle is also shifting across the board, said Chaudhary—a necessary conversation that's been overdue.

The crucial feminine decision is to have full freedom of choice and the ability to change the decision whenever you wish," the academic stated. "The message when I was a student was, 'Choose now and confirm it.' There should be flexibility in this.

One key thing that's happening now is that women are coming together and discussing this issue in various settings. I have a few Slack groups comprised of women in science, and we frequently discuss the name change dilemma. It's clear that the grassroots network of women is functioning.

The conversations among women in science are taking place," she added. "The next step is getting integration into mentorship training and actually bringing it into practice, implementing it in lab settings, faculty meetings, and search committee meetings.

June 22, 2024.

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