When deciding whether to change your last name, does anyone ask “what about your career?”

If you’re engaged, this question is probably going to come up. Have you ever thought about what you would do (if you have plans to marry), or reflected on the decision you made (if you’re already married)? To what extent did your professional accomplishments and aspirations factor into your decision to keep or change your last name?

Our associate producer, Hannah Bates, is engaged, and she talks out the rationale behind her decision to keep her name with three recently married women (one who kept her name and two who changed theirs), and they share what the decision-making process was like for them. Hannah and the Amys then join former co-host Nicole Torres, who first raised this question on our show and encouraged us to do this episode in the first place.

Resources:  

• “How to Change Your Name and Keep Your Professional Identity,” by Dorie Clark
• “8 in 10 Women Married to Men Still Take Husband’s Last Name, Survey Finds,” from Pew Research Center
• “The Japanese Public Broadly Supports Legalizing Dual-Surname Option for Married Couples,” from the Stanford’s Asia-Pacific Research Center

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