How to Change Your Name After Marriage

L.A.B. 

These were my initials for 29 years, 1 month, and 7 days. I thought a lot about whether or not to change my name after Jake and I got married. Not because I was heartbroken over the idea of losing my maiden name - I have three brothers and a nephew, our surname will live on - but because in science, a lot of women decide to keep their maiden name so their publications can be easily tracked. Until I moved to Baltimore, the concept of keeping my maiden name was completely foreign. In fact, growing up all the moms I knew had that same name as their children and husbands. Sure, there are a handful of women I can think of (OK, actually I can only think of two women) who have a hyphenated last name, but I met those women in college. So, I naturally assumed that when it came my turn to take the plunge, I'd take my husband's last name. 

Then, I met women scientists in Maryland. The idea of taking another name after marriage seemed blasphemous. And God forbid you were already published as Sally Maidenname - how would anyone be able to associate pre-married you with post-married you who decided to publish as Sally Husbandslastname? Some women apparently circumvent this issue by dropping their given middle name, moving their maiden name to their middle name, and then taking their husband's last name. Yikes, lots to think about. 

I was torn. Growing up in Massachusetts, I always imagined I'd be Leighanne A. Husbandslastname. But now I have people in my new home and profession telling me I should keep my name, or if I HAVE to change it, change it to Leighanne Maidenname Husbandslastname. I knew I wanted to take Jake's last name in some way, shape or form. So keeping my entire given name was out. Jake and I talked about it, and I briefly considered moving my maiden name to my middle name and dropping my A. altogether. Then Jake pointed out if I did that, my initials would no longer be L.A.B. Jake's last name begins with B. My new initials would be L.B.B. I work in a lab. I feel like it's way too coincindental that my parents gave me the intials L.A.B. by giving me a middle name that starts with A. My decision was made - I dropped my maiden name altogether, retained my middle name, and took Jake's last name. Same initials, which still describe the place I spend most of my time, but new last name, just as I had always imagined it would be. Perfect. 

OK, now that you have my back story how do you actually go about changing a name after marriage? Regardless of whether you choose to just change your last name, or change your middle AND last name, the process is the same. Here's how you change your name after marriage (at least in the state of Maryland - Baltimore county, to be exact).

1. Obtain a certified copy of your marriage certificate. In order to change anything, you need this document. This is not your marriage license. Yes, after you tied the knot, you made it a point to have your officiant sign your marriage license, proving that you and your husband/wife had, in fact, married. He or she needs to submit this signed document to the proper officials so the state will recognize that you are married. Our officiant returned our marriage license to the Baltimore County Clerk of the Court, and by the time Jake and I returned from our honeymoon, our marriage was on file. I went over to the Clerk of the Court (which is the same place where I obtained our marriage license from), paid $5.50 in cash - they do not accept credit card - and walked out with a notorized copy of our marriage certificate. 
2. Visit your local Social Security Administration Office. I thought this would be painful, but this was actually the easiest part of the whole 'changing of the last name' process. I recommend getting to the SSA bright and early. I visited the SSA on a Tuesday morning, and got there about 5 minutes before they opened. I was in and out of this place within 30 min. It does not cost anything to change your Social Security information. In order to change your name on your Social Security card, you need the following documents with you:
1. Legal document providing proof of name change (your certified marriage certificate - see #1).
2. Current license (this will still have your maiden name on it, that's OK).
3. Proof of US citizenship (passport or birth certificate).
4. This form.
3. Visit the MVA to update your license. You must wait at least 48 hours after updating your Social Security information to get your new license. Apparently you do not need your new card in hand to update your license, as long as it's been 48 hours since you requested the name change on your Social Security card. The SSA will tell you that it can take up to 10 business days to receive your new card in the mail, but mine was there 4 days later. I just waited until I got my new card in the mail before heading to the MVA. We all know how trips to the MVA go, so I wasn't about to make the trip over there and have them tell me I needed my card before I could change my license. But I digress. The MVA snapped a new picture of me to display on my license, and I also got to update my weight so it reflected the 20 lbs I dropped before the wedding (bonus!). They told me that my new license would be valid for 8 years, and it was issued right then and there. This is what I needed:
1. My license (again, this still had my maiden name on it - duh, this is the reason you're going to the MVA).
2. Certified marriage certificate (again, see #1).
3. Your new Social Security card (see #2 - although it's still unclear to me if you actually need this. Just make sure you wait at least 48 hours).
4. $48.00, payable by cash, check, or credit card. 
4. Inform your employer. This was the most painful part of changing my name. It seemed like a million different people had to sign off on my new name, and I still haven't been issued a new work ID badge yet. I imagine this process varies greatly from employer to employer. Ironically, my employer didn't even ask to see proof of my new name, but if they had, I would have been able to show my new Social Security card and/or license. Update: four days after requesting my name change with my employer, I had to demonstrate proof of marriage. I thought it was strange they didn't need any paperwork proving there was a reason I took off 2.5 weeks for wedding/honeymoon-related activities.
5. Update your passport. I actually haven't done this yet, as I don't envision taking a trip outside the US in the near future. However, if you need to do this, here is information on how to change your name on your passport.
6. Update your banking information, credit cards, online accounts, email addresses, etc. I was able to change the name on my bank account by visiting my banking branch with my new license and marriage certificate. My new debit/credit card was issued on the spot. Changing my name on my credit cards took some time, and I found that with most of them, a quick phone call to each company was all it took. The same applied for updating my information with my cell phone company. A few credit card companies require proof of the name change and requested I send a copy of my marriage certificate to them. To update my car insurance so my policy reflects my new name, I simply logged in to my Geico account and did it online. I'm sure this varies from insurance company to insurance company. 

And that's pretty much it! By far, the most annoying aspect of all of this was updating all of my online account usernames. I do all of my banking and what not online, and almost all of my usernames contained some aspect of my maiden name. I figured since I was taking Jake's last name, I should get accustomed to said name and wanted to change the usernames and email addresses associated with each account to reflect my new name. So that took a LONG time. But now it's all done! 

Best of luck to all you newlyweds out there. Hopefully this information will be of use to you!