Free Name Change Kit for Brides
 
     

Name Options

Choosing Your Name

Various studies have suggested that from seventy to ninety percent of women take their husband's last name when getting married. This can take several different forms and there are also other options available. When deciding what name to use you may contemplate things like tradition, family expectations and desire to keep a family name, ease of pronunciation and spelling, and consideration of children.

The following shows some name options for newlyweds. For these examples let's say that our bride, Lisa Anne Taylor, is marrying the groom, Steven Alan Smith.

  • Lisa Anne Smith  The bride takes the groom’s last name, the most traditional option.

  • Lisa Anne Taylor-Smith, or Lisa Anne Smith Taylor. The bride uses both birth and married surnames with or without a hyphen. This allows the bride to keep a valued birth name.

  • Lisa Anne Taylor-Smith and Steven Alan Taylor-Smith. Same as above except the groom also uses both surnames. This is good if the couple wants a single name family.

  • Lisa Taylor Smith. The bride replaces her former middle name with her birth name. The bride can keep her valued surname in a shorter fashion.

  • Lisa and Steven Taylorsmith, or Lisa and Steven Taysmith. The bride and groom create a new name by combining surnames, a creative way to incorporate both last names.

  • Lisa and Steven Summers. The couple picks out a new last name entirely.

  • Lisa Anne Taylor  The bride chooses to keep the same name.

 If you decide to go with something other than the traditional option of taking your husband's last name it's a good idea to have it approved by your local marriage license authority since different parts of the country have different rules about what names can be used. 

Keep in mind that some brides take their husband's last name officially but continue to use their former names for business or other settings. This can be advantageous to a bride who has built up a solid reputation using her former name, even though it might cause a bit of confusion.