Name Change After Marriage for Newlyweds

Looking for name change advice or some tips for newlywed life? The MissNowMrs experts have created state-specific name change articles and checklists for you. We’ve chronicled our recommendations for how to travel while changing your name AND how to handle voting during the transition.

We’ve also compiled our best guidance for how to handle difficult sister in laws, holidays as newlyweds, the ever-annoying baby questions, and much more. Why? Because, while we are name change experts, we’re also newlywed wives, moms, and sisters.

We hope our name change advice articles help smooth your transition to your new name, and a whole new phase of life. Congratulations and best wishes from the entire MissNowMrs team!

What’s In A Name?

Newlywed and considering changing your name? There are so many decisions that come along with “I do”. Things like whose insurance to merge under, where to live, whether to combine all of your finances, which family you celebrate which holiday with and of course whether to change your name or not. It’s completely understandable to be overwhelmed by the concept of name change after marriage, especially with all of the extra decisions that must be made as newlyweds.

Take some time to consider what your maiden name means to you. Does your maiden name roll off your tongue and remind you of your heritage and various degrees and accomplishments you’ve made? Does it make you feel proud and define your sense of “you”? If so, you should consider keeping your maiden name in some way if you decide to change your name after marriage. You have the option to hyphenate your maiden name with your spouse’s last name, take both last names sans hyphen, take your maiden name as a second middle name or replace your middle name with your maiden name (which is an added bonus for those with horrid middle names).

Conversely, if you think about your maiden name and remember being mercilessly teased as a child or being a the very end of the alphabet and called last for everything you may have extra incentive to change your name to your spouse’s last name and drop your maiden name completely. Some women see married name change as a tangible way to show that they’re “all in” in their marriage.
Regardless of the factors that influence the decision, name change after marriage is a very personal and permanent decision. Consider playing the Married Name Game to have its patent-pending algorithm generate your ideal married name change combination!

5 Reasons to Take Your New Married Name in the New Year

Ready to take your new married name in the New Year? We’re twelve days into January, and sadly many newlyweds’ New Year’s resolutions are already falling by the wayside. Did you resolve to change your maiden name after getting married? That’s one resolution that should be easy to keep and there are many benefits to changing to your married name in the beginning of the year.

Take Advantage of Available Options – Not all states allow all variations of married name change (ex: Ohio doesn’t allow maiden to middle name change). If plan to change your name, the sooner you begin the transition, the more options you’ll have as most states make legislature changes in early spring. It would be terrible to decide upon a specific married last name combination and find out that you missed your chance in your state by a few weeks.

Travel – Thinking about booking a trip for Spring Break or over the summer? Now is the time to apply for a new passport in your married name. The State Department is taking ~5 weeks to issue new passports, and you’ll need your new passport number before you book your flights somewhere warm! The other reason to get a new passport now? You’ll get to keep track of all of your trips as a Mrs. instead of having them split between two books.

Taxes – No one wants to think about taxes, but changing your name in the beginning of the year will make filing taxes under your new name much simpler next year. After working a full year as a Mrs, your accountant will thank you and you won’t have to stress about which amounts were made under which name.

Employment Ease – Employers need to be notified of married name changes and if that notification comes in the new year, odds are in your favor that you’ll get prompt attention from HR, new business cards, email etc before everyone is bogged down with projects. Another pro: you’ll receive credit in your new name. As someone who received a president’s club trophy and trip in a hyphenated name (as HR guessed)…I really wish I had notified them of my new non-hyphenated last name in the New Year!

Now or Never – Name change is one of those life changes that fall into the now or never category. The sooner you start the married name change process the sooner it will be finished and you’ll be an official Mrs. The longer you wait, the more your maiden name gets attached to important things like leases, mortgages, degrees, etc. and the harder it becomes to make the switch to a new last name.

If your New Year’s resolution was to change your name, hopefully these five benefits give you the boost you need to start the process. MissNowMrs is an easy online name change service that will streamline the paperwork and pain from 13 hours into 30 minutes for $29.95. How’s that for a great deal and a way to ensure you check that particular resolution off your list?!

Ashlee Simpson’s Married Name Change

There’s nothing like a new year to spark newlyweds’ need to change to their new married names! Have you heard about Ashless Simpson’s married name change? Following her November nuptials with Evan Ross, Ashlee Simpson is changing her maiden name to the married name of Ross-Naess. Her husband, Evan’s legal last name is Naess, but he is know professionally by his mother’s last name of Ross. The family elected to combine both names with a hyphen and all have the same name.

While her sister, Jessica Simpson, was the first to announce wanting to change to her married name, Ashlee looks to be the Simpson making a new married name official in 2015. Mrs. Ross-Naess is typically a trend setter, so it will be interesting to see if her hyphenated last name increases the popularity of hyphenation with brides and newlyweds this year. Hyphenation was trending downwards as a name change option in 2014, as many women elect to take their maiden names as middle names and forgo the mouthful hyphenations can create.

Whether you’re a celebrity or not, 2015 is a great year to make the transition to Mrs. MissNowMrs.com is an easy online name change service & app that condense the 13 hour process into 30 minutes! It’s a newlywed’s best option. Unless you have personal assistants!

Did Mila Kunis Change Her Name to Mrs. Kutcher?!

Kutchers Name Change — Will Mila Kunis Change Her Name?

We all know that Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are engaged and have an adorable daughter together….BUT they may have tied the knot over the holidays! Ashton posted a Happy New Year message from the Kutchers photo on his Facebook recently (see above). If they’re sharing a last name one could speculate that they’re legally married.

At age 31, Mila wasn’t my first pick for stars changing their names in 2015. Statically, the older a bride is when she gets married, the more likely she is to keep her maiden name in some way. As women whose names are tied to their profession are less likely to change their names after marriage, Mila’s star status would skew her towards keeping her last name of Kunis. I would venture that if Mila legally changes her name after marrying Ashton, she would be Mrs. Mila Kunis Kutcher (with her maiden name as a middle name). Maiden to middle name change is a trend that is continuing to gain popularity with U.S. newlyweds, regardless of celebrity status.

Newlywed or nearlywed and considering changing your name? Play the Married Name Game and let their patent-pending algorithm determine your perfect married name!