Ladies: Did you change your last name?

[Mewcakes]

A question to the married ladies of optometry. I was wondering if, when you married, did you change your last name or keep your own? Did you get married before or after you graduated?

My father is a big contributor to my education and to who I am as a person, I would relish the chance to honor him by being an OD in his name.

However...

I'm completely devoted to my significant other and would love nothing more than to be Mrs. V.

So what did you do and how did you come to that conclusion?

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[achirum]

Seems like more and more women are keeping their own last names. Maybe just do a dual last name like you see very often now. If your dad is very supportive of you etc etc, I'm sure he wouldn't be offended in the least bit if you changed your last name. There are other ways to honor your dad than by keeping your last name.

 

[JMU07]

I had the same thoughts. I got married right after I graduated from undergrad but ended up taking my husband's name. I love and respect my father but to me it was more important to take my hubby's name. Everyone has different feelings about it though! I definitely wasn't going to hyphenate, two super German names would have been too much.

 

[KHE]

I had the same thoughts. I got married right after I graduated from undergrad but ended up taking my husband's name. I love and respect my father but to me it was more important to take my hubby's name. Everyone has different feelings about it though! I definitely wasn't going to hyphenate, two super German names would have been too much.

I married an OD as well and she took my last name. (She actually didn't let her last name, so it was easy for her to take it.)

I don't know if you're actually married now or not but one possibility may be to have your maiden name on your diploma and use your married name for everything else. That way, your maiden name is on the diploma forever.

 

[cloud99]

I'd change it or hyphenate it if you plan to have children in the future. It can get tricky when you want to decide which last name to give them.

If you keep your own name, (say "Jolie") everyone in your family will have a different last name than you, (let's say "Pitt") unless you hyphenate the kids' last name, (aka "Jolie-Pitt"). Then you're dealing with 3 different last names for your family.

If you hyphenate yours, you are "Jolie-Pitt", your husband is "Pitt", and your kids can be either "Jolie-Pitt" or "Pitt". Only 2 last names to deal with.

If you change it, your entire family can share 1 last name "all Pitt's." Many women now will still honor their family name by making it a child's first or middle name. Usually works out the best if your family name is somewhat pleasant to the ears, like "Aniston." If your maiden name is "Stephanopolis" however.......

I think many dad's expect their daughter's to change their last name somehow anyway.

 

[Mewcakes]

JMU07: Exactly. My last name would be Lew-Veilleux. Pronounced loo-veh-loo (or loo-vay-yeuh if you're French but no one ever says it that way ). So silly sounding.

KHE: that's a lovely idea. I really like that.

My dad was first generation second child and treasured only son with two sisters. His parentd coming from china in the 30 or 40s. Its funny the way he STILL gets favor over his sisters from his father. But anyways, my dad had 2 girls, so his name ends with him, so I guess this was as much for my grandfather as much as for my dad. I'd be the first of my cousins on that side with a graduate degree.

 

[4Eyes]

I got married halfway through my first year of optometry school. I took my husband's last name. It's something I always planned to do, and I don't regret it. However, when it came down to graduating, I did think, "man, it would have been cool to hear my maiden name called." For myself and for my family. Having a hyphenated name never appealed to me though. If I had it to do over again, I might have made my maiden name a second middle name. At the time though, the thought had never occurred to me. KHE's idea is a good one though, and may be less confusing legally.

Edit: To clarify, I wouldn't go through the hassle of having an extra name just to hear it called at graduation, but I do think it would have been kind of cool to have that as sort of a tribute to my family. I was the first person on one side of my family to receive a bachelor's degree, and the first person on either side to receive a doctoral degree (distant relatives excluded). It was also sort of shocking when I went to the office to get a new social security card. They took my old one with my maiden name on it and shredded it right there in front of me. Even though I thought I was 100% prepared to change my name, it did make me a little sad at that moment. You carry that name for a long time, and you share it with people you love. It's a little hard/weird to shed it all of a sudden.

 

[dotdash]

I wanted to keep my own name, but I also wanted us all (husband and future kids) to all have the same name (easier). My husband and I talked a lot about it and in the end, he took my name. Now we have kids, a family name, and I am left with an immense gratitude that he was a secure and strong enough person to do that for us.

 

[cpw]

I got married after being in practice only 8 months. Almost none of the patients knew me by my maiden name. Like others have mentioned, I didn't want to have a different last name from my son. (people would think i was his step-mom)

As a plus, my married last name is unique so patients actually remember it. Rather than "i saw the tall female doctor"

 

[JMU07]

I got married after being in practice only 8 months. Almost none of the patients knew me by my maiden name. Like others have mentioned, I didn't want to have a different last name from my son. (people would think i was his step-mom)

As a plus, my married last name is unique so patients actually remember it. Rather than "i saw the tall female doctor"

Mine's pretty unique too. It's definitely one that you won't forget.

 

[Optogal]

Not there yet, but yes I will.

 

[lnh]

My mother kept her name. Growing up, I remember filling out contact forms for school where I listed both my parents names. I remember thinking, "I bet they will think she is my step-mom." But it never bothered me. I knew who she was. For myself, I could go either way, but I think I will keep my name.

For any ladies who are were published or practiced awhile under your maiden name, did you have any issues changing your name?

One of the ODs I spoke to re-married and I vaguely remember her mentioning what a nightmare it was to deal with the discrepancy between her "professional name" she had published under and her current practicing name -- as well as more minor things like updating the name on her Rx pad, databases, etc.

 

[JAZZEYE]

If you hyphenate yours, you are "Jolie-Pitt", your husband is "Pitt", and your kids can be either "Jolie-Pitt" or "Pitt".

Angie is gonna be an Optometrist ?