Keep Your Maiden Name, Earn $500,000 More?

I normally enjoy LV articles, but this one fails in many ways. It seems much more likely that women who keep their maiden name do so because they are already more well-established, have a reputation/clientel associated with their name, and make more both before and after their decision than the group who chooses to change their name. The perception differences follow in the same vein. If mainly those who have a vested (read: monetary) interest in their maiden name keep it, then this phenomenon will be associated with competency, intelligence, etc… as evidenced by the study. Come on LV, I thought you were better than this.

I normally enjoy LV articles, but this one fails in many ways. It seems much more likely that women who keep their maiden name do so because they are already more well-established, have a reputation/clientel associated with their name, and make more both before and after their decision than the group who chooses to change their name. The perception differences follow in the same vein. If mainly those who have a vested (read: monetary) interest in their maiden name keep it, then this phenomenon will be associated with competency, intelligence, etc… as evidenced by the study. Come on LV, I thought you were better than this.

I normally enjoy LV articles, but this one fails in many ways. It seems much more likely that women who keep their maiden name do so because they are already more well-established, have a reputation/clientel associated with their name, and make more both before and after their decision than the group who chooses to change their name. The perception differences follow in the same vein. If mainly those who have a vested (read: monetary) interest in their maiden name keep it, then this phenomenon will be associated with competency, intelligence, etc… as evidenced by the study. Come on LV, I thought you were better than this.

I recently married. The first thing I was asked was what I changed my name to (since most people see me as pretty competitive and motivated). Most people werent surprised when I said that I kept my last name. More people were interested in my name change than any other detail of my wedding, based on what is commented in this article: women who are more successful keep their names. I am young and have several friends who have kept their name because it shows independence and family ties. After all, our husbands didnt bring us into the world. Just my thoughts…

I’m curious about how the woman’s age at marriage affects this (or for that matter, the man’s — I know at least one couple where the husband took his wife’s name). If a person marries young, before holding any significant employment, the name change probably doesn’t affect her much because nobody has any other frame of reference. A woman who marries once she has started to establish a career will be more obvious, since she will have to update all her clients, co-workers, and even former employers (“Hello, I’m calling to check references for Jane Smith.” “Sorry, I don’t see that we’ve ever had an employee named Jane Smith.” Not good.). So I would assume an early name change would have far less impact than a later one, but it would be fascinating to see the statistics broken down that way.

Personally, I chose to keep my birth name when I married. I had many reasons for doing so, but even if I had decided to change, I NEVER would have gone by “Mrs.” in the workplace. My marital status is entirely irrelevant in a professional setting. And in my field, it is pretty apparent that any woman who is seen as important or powerful is always referred to as “Ms.” regardless of whether anyone knows her marital status, and those who are called “Miss/Mrs.” are generally being coddled or condescended to, or have a support role rather than a leadership role (i.e. secretary versus partner). I would not be surprised to find the same attitudes in other professions.

What’s disappointing about this article is that it doesn’t mention why women choose to keep their name or change it… which is more indicative of earning potential.

There is a deeper rooted social thought that women who keep their names do this for equality, independence and professional establishment reasons.  Right, wrong or indifferent, this gives employers the impression that she is strong, assertive, a decision maker and ultimately a good business person.

I’ll stick with my name.  I’ve begun my career with the present one.  But, for me, it’s not about making more money… it’s a committment I’ve made to myself to steer away from ages of women always being handed from father to husband, demonstrated through the name change.  But others may change it because of tradition, raising children, etc.  To each one’s own…

I think this article misses the point.

I married at age 37, well established in my career, and I decided to take my husband’s last name.  In my view, when we married, we became a new entity altogether — we joyfully considered that we were now “one flesh, one family” — and I wanted to share that with the world in revering the symbolic representation of our one family name. Also, in having children, we wanted their identity to be firmly represented in our family love – one clear name, without question or confusion (so our kids would not be of a different name than their mother or hyphenated). As a business owner, I actually prefer my maiden name phonetically (its more unique in the US), but I was even more excited to have an outward sign of our union as a married couple and a new family because it represents a new and changed life for both of us as well as a declaration to others of our commitment, unity, identification and future together.  In my heart, my role as a family member, wife and soon-to-be mother far exceeds my concern about keeping my maiden name alive for my clients.  That said, I do understand the contemporary dilemma with a woman’s perception of her own identity in the workplace and elsewhere… many of my friends have kept their maiden names, and I happily encourage, to each her own.  In my view, our family name represents something greater than myself, and greater than my husband…and that’s exciting to us.

I have learned that your name and the perception it gives is very important and can have a huge impact on your work life.

I changed my name ten years ago from an “ethnic” sounding last name to a very “Anglo” name because I had been discriminated against when looking for a job. My mother encouraged me to experiment using a “white” name when I applied for jobs and I was surprised to find out that I received much more interest in my resume when I used the more “white” sounding name. I went back and resubmitted applications for the same position under my new “white” name and received call backs from companies that previously ignored my resume.  
I decided to legally change my last name because of this discrimination and because I did not have any affinity towards my last name since my father was not really present in my life. I achieved professional success with my new name and decided not to change it or hyphenate when I married last year. One reason is because my industry is fairly small and I am already established under my current name and another is because my husband’s last name is a masculine name which can be used as a first name and I wanted to avoid any confusion.

Changing my last name was one of the best career choices I made. I can say with absolute certainty that it has had a direct impact on my career success.

I don’t really like my father so I rather not keep his name and Wallace is a freak’n awesome last name so I stuck with changing it to my husband’s. I guess if I wanted to be independent of all sexist biases, then I would have made up my own last name and not kept either a father’s or a husband’s.

I kept my own name and it was a great decision.  I had a great credit rating and it would have been GONE if I had changed my name.  My husband and I would get multiple offers for deals, coupons, credit cards tec vs only one if we were under one name.   26 years later and still married..when I get an offer of credit, my maiden name gets awesome offers. my “married” name alias is only offered “secured” cards.   I do hyphenate my name when I deal with affairs with the kids.  

Several years after marriage my husband agreed that keeping my name was wise.

OTOH, if you have women who constantly marry, divorce and keep changeing their name, it could lead anyone to think they are flaky or unstable in their commitments to anything.  

I think everyone should just pick the name that sounds the best…that would be the subject of the conversation at a party- so which name did yall keep?…

I took my husband’s last name- too much energy to think about the pros and cons on my future career- either way I expect to be successful and my name won’t adjust my income, especially if I’m my own boss!

Here is my POV. My years in early elementary I carried my biological father’s last name. When the adoption was finalized, my “mother” dropped my biological father’s last name and added hers. She turned out to be an evil woman. I just got married in April and I have taken on my husbands last name. Although I had found my biological family before I got married, I don’t know my father as I should. As I said before, the lady who adopted me was evil. I think I made the best choice?

I think this perception is dumb, and I’m Dutch and American.  If one wants to consider keeping their maiden name, it’s because they are proud to carry on the family tradition and prominent heritage, one isn’t less independent, worthy, or intelligent.  I also think that using maiden names may be more economical because if there’s a separation no changes need to be made so it doesn’t cost anything since it’s the name you were given at birth.  There’s nothing wrong with tradition, I have used my first and middle name for my art and music and that is my preference.  I also was glad to take my husband’s last name because I’m proud of it, and it shows respect and commitment to my partner.  When women keep their last name and their husbands last name, it’s a personal preference, but I find excessively long last names irritating, too hard to remember, and not important, the complete opposite of this so called theory.  More focus on a women’s identity, is an ongoing process, it just doesn’t “happen” because you accept or don’t accept change tacked onto to your first and last name.  Just like mental perception impacts success or failure, you believe what you make of it, you achieve what you’re focused on, goals are in the eye of the beholder and the sky is the limit.  Actions speak louder than words, and mark the true charisma of a talented woman.  Who a woman is, and what she becomes stems from within her; personality, confidence, beauty, determination, faith, devotion, love, forgiveness, are all possible, because she believes she can accomplish anything, with or without the support of those she loves and who love her in return, and regardless of her last name.  A “name tag” can’t replace effort, hard work, commitment and dedication, and place a higher “price tag” on an individual unless they come from a wealthy family or are marrying into one.

I think there are some lurking variables in this study.  Women in academia generally keep their maiden names, and so do women who are in prominent social positions.  Women in such prominent social positions tend to earn more money than women in less prominent positions.  If the world knows you by one name, changing it can be confusing, even if it remains hyphenated.  A woman is seen as independent if she is unmarried, and presenting a couple with two different last names either creates the assumption that the two are only dating, or it creates the assumption that they are married with two completely different lives.  Either way, the woman has to be more independent because she doesn’t have a partner.

I was married last year. It has cost me many frustrations. My income has been significantly been reduced, but I do not want to go into full detail as of why. I have kept my maiden name for over a year now. I do not care about the confusion when we were looking for a mortgage for a house. I do it because it IS cost effective for me. Other times, when we are with people whom we know, I go by my married name. My husband doesn’t mind and he just read this post to see why I have done that. I hope potential employers do see me as independent. However, during one of my classes, I have learned about Emotional Intelligence in the workplace. This study goes against what I have learned. The only thing I do not understand that wasn’t mentioned in the above article is, how will anyone know your maiden name in the first place if the surname isn’t hyphenated?

I logged in with my facebook account. It is for family and friends. That is why my last name is being shown as hyphenated. I do have another separate account for business where I used my legal first and last name incase anyone was wondering.

If you don’t want to change your last name, all you American ladies, marry a Dutch or even Scandinavian guy to stay safe. He’ll appreciate your decisions to keep your last name. You could share names or he can take yours as well. They won’t force you to change your last name like American or Canadian men do. Even French and Germans are known to share last names upon marriage as well because France and Germany are also egalitarian countries. Sometimes husbands are willing to take their wives’ last names as well.

This is really stupid. Besides, when you interview for a job, they aren’t legally allowed to know if you are married and used to be named something else. I’ll bet if you dug deeper into the statistics you would see that those who kept their maiden name did so because they already had a lot of equity against in their fields. It’s also perfectly legal to officially change your last name and still use your maiden name within the workplace/industry. Most people with established careers do this, especially those with strong networks. I’ll be Ms. Maiden name at work, and Mrs. Married name legally, and guess what, I’ll still be just as confident and successful at work as I am now (just got engaged). Really insulting article LV