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!

3 Ways to Know You Chose the Right Married Name

Changing your name after marriage is a very personal choice. You have to consider your heritage, career, and how you feel deep inside about changing your name. While 88% of U.S. brides opt to change their names, not all of them explore their options before making the switch. It’s important to use our 3 ways to know you chose the right married name.

Game Show Winner

You know the person the camera always pans to when a winner is announced during a game show? The crazy person jumping up and down and screaming. You can feel confident in your name change choice if you feel that same way whenever someone says your new name. Feeling that I-can’t-believe-how-lucky-I-am-right-now joy is a dead giveaway that you made a great choice.

Married Name Monogram Happy

Another indicator that you’ve chosen the perfect married name is your feeling toward monogramed or personalized items. Newlyweds who can’t help loading up on items like pillows, wine glasses, & ring dishes are typically happy with their new names. Think about it. If you’re purchasing items showcasing your new married name, you’re proud and excited about that decision and change!

Diner Delight

If you can contain your smiles as you make dinner reservations for Mr. and Mrs. Smith… guess what? You love your new married name! It is completely okay to revel in the newness of your marriage and name. Enjoy it! Hopefully as you are led to your 50th wedding anniversary dinner you will still smile as you hear your married name.

Now you know the 3 Ways to Know You Chose the Right Married Name. If you still haven’t changed your name, we can help! Use the MissNowMrs name change app or online service to streamline the process from 13 hours to 13 minutes.

Omarosa Married Name Change?

Omarosa Manigault just tied the knot with John Allen Newman… and of course we’re all curious “will she change her name?” Omarosa became a reality star on the first season of The Apprentice. Most Americans know her by her first name, so perhaps a switch to Mrs. Omarosa Newman is in the cards.

There are several factors that heavily influence a woman’s decision to change her name. One of the biggest is the age of the bride at the time of her marriage. Omarosa is 43, so that would point to her keeping her maiden name. Another factor that plays into name change after marriage is a woman’s level of education. The more educated a woman is, the more likely she is to keep her maiden name in some way (just think of all the framed diplomas that would have to change.) Omarosa has a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and started but did not complete her Ph.D., so that skews her more towards keeping her last name of Manigault.

Another name-change prediction detail to consider is the fact that Omarosa opted to hyphenate her name with her spouse’s last name in her previous marriage.

Despite all of these factors pointing towards Omarosa sticking with her maiden name, there is the wild card called love. Many female celebrities and professional women opt to make the switch to Mrs. for a variety of reasons. So, our prediction for Ms. Omarosa’s name change is hazy with a chance for surprise. Regardless, we wish her and John a lifetime of love and happiness!

70% of Americans Believe Women Should Change Their Name After Marriage: A Name Change Expert Sounds Off

70% of Americans believe women should change their name after marriage. And, half of the citizens of the United States believe a woman should be required by law to change her name after marriage. Those are insane statistics and beliefs… right? A recent article in the Gender Issues Journal raised some eyebrows. As a name-change expert who contributed to a name change journal article on the topic of name-change predictors, I was very curious to learn more about the study. Here’s what I learned.

Ms. Emily Fitzgibbons Shafer’s abstract states that she surveyed a diverse sample of 1,243 individuals to evaluate how committed they think a woman is as a wife by her last name choice. And whether a woman’s last name choice causes individuals to hold her to different standards (known as a backlash effect.) I understand the key life variables that impact a woman’s name change decision. But, have not studied how her choice might impact how others view her. So this is interesting sociological stuff. I’m also curious if Emily’s double last name is from her parents or due to her own married name change decision.

Schafer writes about the suggestions that Hillary Rodham using her maiden name contributed to Bill Clinton’s loss in his 1980 re-election campaign. Her name change to Hillary Rodham Clinton did happen afterwards. So, there may be a kernel of truth or societal pressure there. Name change is a highly controversial topic before you sprinkle in politics, so on page one this journal article is explosive!

The Good News:
This study found among women and highly educated men, women’s surname choice seems to have little effect on their perceptions of women as a wife or the standards to which she is held in marriage. So, if you’re surrounded by highly educated women and men you won’t subject yourself to negative views if you keep your maiden name.

The Bad News:
Schaffer found “among men with low education, a woman with a last name that is different than her husband’s is seen as being a less committed wife than a woman whose last name is the same as her husband’s. Further, less educated men feel that a woman who didn’t take her husband’s name should be forgiven for fewer days late than a woman who has the same last name as her husband’s. And they believe that the woman’s husband would be more justified in divorcing her for her perceived neglect of the marriage (as measured through repeated lateness).”

So, if you spend a majority of your time with under-educated men and don’t change your name after marriage you stand a high likelihood of being viewed as a bad wife, deserving of less forgiveness, and those guys would totally understand if your husband divorced you for neglecting your marriage.

Name-Change Expert Opinion:
Because I founded an online name-change service to help women change their names after marriage, most people assume I’m a gung ho name change advocate. Yes, I do make money on name change, but I am also a female founder in tech. I view name change after marriage as a personal choice. It reflects each woman’s situation, heritage, and personal style.

Name change should not be correlated with being committed to a relationship, nor should it influence forgiveness… something that is vital to a healthy, long-lasting marriage. In my opinion we need to be having open discussions with our families and peers about name change as a personal choice, not a law.

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out these stories from Elite Daily and Refinery29.

Kylie Minogue’s Married Name Change

First comes love, then comes marriage, and 88% of the time name-change is the next step. It seems like the very successful singer, Kylie Minogue, will be part of that majority when she gets married. In a recent newspaper interview the star opened up about her up-coming nuptials and her intention to change her name.

Why would someone who’s name has been linked with fame for over 20 years change it? Typically the older a woman is when she marries, the more likely she is to keep her name (Kylie’s 48). She is even more likely to keep her maiden name if it is tied to her career (um hi she’s a star). Outside of these key indicators of name change is that wonderful thing called love. When asked why she would change her name, Kylie said “It makes a statement.” Indeed it does. More and more brides today are choosing to change their names as an expression of commitment or of being “all in.” Another famous figure who recently changed her name after marriage, is Amal Clooney and we totally called that name change before it hit the news!

As name-change experts, we have a prediction for Kylie Minogue’s married name change choice. Based on her star status and interview statements, we think she will take her maiden name as a middle name and become Mrs. Kylie Mingoue Sasse. Mrs. Kylie Sasse has a nice sound to it! We wish her and fiancé Joshua Sasse a lifetime of love and happiness together.

4 Tips To Make Your New Year’s Name Change Resolution Happen

Did you make a name change resolution to make your married name change a reality in the New Year? Whether you were a New Years bride or have been procrastinating for months, January is an ideal time to change your name after marriage. So, if you’ve made the decision to officially switch to Mrs. how do you get started? Below are a few tips to ensure your name change resolution actually happens this year.

Name Change Resolution Tip #1

Decide on the last name that is perfect for you. You can take your spouse’s last name, hyphenate, take two last names, take your maiden as an additional middle name, or replace your middle name with your maiden name. Undecided? Play the Married Name Game and let its patent-pending algorithm suggest your ideal married last name(s) and factor in state laws, as some states do not allow all forms of married name change.

Name Change Resolution Tip #2
Request 2-3 certified copies of your marriage certificate. This is the legal document that you will need to file with your name-change forms. Having several copies will allow you to file at several offices simultaneously, and become a Mrs. that much faster. *Trust us, the faster you go through the process, the less hiccups you will encounter.

Name Change Resolution Tip #3

Determine the filing order for your state of residence. Different states require different forms of ID to be filed first. Some want you to file with Social Security 24-48 hours before filing for your new driver’s license. Some states want to see your social security card in your maiden name to process your new driver’s license application, and still others require that you bring your new Social Security card with your new married name (which take 2 weeks to process) before they will issue your new driver’s license. Understanding the filing order where you live will help you plot where you file first, second, and third. That knowledge will also help you avoid making mistakes that can result in standing in long government office lines several times. Feel free to use our detailed married name change checklist as you map out your transition to Mrs

Name Change Resolution Tip #4
Skip the stress of re-creating the name-change wheel and use the MissNowMrs.com easy online name change service. Sure we’re a little biased (it is our company) but honestly…wouldn’t you rather spend $30 to save 13 hours of tedious form research, completion, and filing? There’s a reason we have over 350,000 customers. Smart busy brides see the value in outsourcing their name change so they can spend more time doing fun newlywed things like decorating, celebrating, and spending time with their spouses!