Maiden Name and Publications

[syzergy]

I've done a search on this topic but haven't really found anything substantial.


I was curious if anyone has changed their name during training or even after receiving their license. I'm specifically interested in your experience with publications. My boyfriend's last name is awesome so I'm pumped to switch out my boring name but I'm wondering what that means for publishing. I'm research focused and have some publications but I'm hoping to get more during grad school. Do you just publish under two names? Is it difficult for people to even find your earlier research?

I would love to hear if anyone has any insight in this. I know it's a pretty minor issue compared to what is usually posted on these boards, but it's something I've been wondering for awhile. Thanks!

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[reluctantPhd01]

Yes, this does happen. People frequently hyphenate, or if they totally change their name, they just asteriks that on their CV or website (something like *formally known as EC Smith). You keep everything the way you published it (e.g. if you change your name to Smith, don't change your name from Jones to Smith in publications that you published under Jones). You usually put the astericks on your faculty page too. I would say that in this business, your name is kind of everything, so it'd kind of a pain in the neck, but people seem to overcome it easily. It's really not that rare, I see it a ton. Hyphenate if you can though

 

[busybusybusy]

I've seen it where the person will bold their maiden name on their CV so people know it was them. I think especially with the field having more women than men it's common to see two different names on a CV.

 

[zupa]

I have a different but similar question...

Can you change your name legally and still go by your maiden name professionally? Does that screw up licensure? Is it just easier to do it the other way around, keeping your maiden name legally and going by married name socially?

Has anyone had any experience/issue with this type of thing?

 

[lizzo76]

I have a different but similar question...

Can you change your name legally and still go by your maiden name professionally? Does that screw up licensure? Is it just easier to do it the other way around, keeping your maiden name legally and going by married name socially?

Has anyone had any experience/issue with this type of thing?

A lot of people keep their maiden name professionally, while legally (and socially) changing their last name. Likewise, I know several people who have NOT changed their last name, but socially go by their husband's last name. The latter is, of course, the easier route. It gets more complicated, I suppose, if you have children, and you legally want to have the same last name as them (and they have your husband's last name.)

 

[cara susanna]

I plan on keeping my maiden name professionally and switching to my husband's name legally (if I get married). It's also nice because it makes it harder for clients to look up your personal info.

 

[futureapppsy2]

I plan on keeping my maiden name professionally and switching to my husband's name legally (if I get married). It's also nice because it makes it harder for clients to look up your personal info.

Ditto, and I think there's a lot of value in keeping your publications under one name, in terms of people recognizing your name and making you easier to look up on Psycinfo and the like.

 

[PsyDLICSW]

I have a different but similar question...

Can you change your name legally and still go by your maiden name professionally? Does that screw up licensure? Is it just easier to do it the other way around, keeping your maiden name legally and going by married name socially?

Has anyone had any experience/issue with this type of thing?

I have the same question. I wanted to use my maiden name profesionally but changed my name whn I got married. I wanted to hyphenate, but my husband is more traditional and was totally against hyphenating. So, I have two middle names now, my given middle name and my maiden name. I use my maiden name with my last name as if it is hyphenated, but it isn't. My husband doesn't know the difference. If I could, I'd use my maiden name professionally. But can you if you changed your name?

 

[futureapppsy2]

I have the same question. I wanted to use my maiden name profesionally but changed my name whn I got married. I wanted to hyphenate, but my husband is more traditional and was totally against hyphenating. So, I have two middle names now, my given middle name and my maiden name. I use my maiden name with my last name as if it is hyphenated, but it isn't. My husband doesn't know the difference. If I could, I'd use my maiden name professionally. But can you if you changed your name?

I don't see why not. I know a number of psychologists and psych grad students who publish and work under their middle names (instead of their first names), and I can't imagine a maiden name would be any different.

 

[busybusybusy]

Wouldn't your license and any legal documentation have to be under your legal name though?

 

[KillerDiller]

Wouldn't your license and any legal documentation have to be under your legal name though?

Yeah, this is where it gets tricky. I was planning on keeping my maiden name as a professional name only--legally and socially taking my husband's name. However, I ran across several problems with this. First of all, my university refuses to put anything but your legal name on the diploma. I didn't want to set up my office and display a diploma with a different last name than what I used professionally (also kinda takes away the anonymity perk). Secondly, the VA (and all government jobs probably) will not issue you an email or an ID with anything but your legal name. Your license has to be in your legal name. The list goes on, I'm sure.

In short, it is considerably less work to keep your married name legally and take your husband's name socially than it is to change your legal name to something you do not intend to use professionally.

 

[PrisonPsych]

More good reasons to get rid of the stupidity of the patriarchal ownership-by-name practice. Make your husband change his name, if anything, otherwise keep your name. You're not a possession.

 

[deleted106747]

More good reasons to get rid of the stupidity of the patriarchal ownership-by-name practice. Make your husband change his name, if anything, otherwise keep your name. You're not a possession.

Of course, sometimes a woman might change her name for other reasons than victimization by a patriarchal society or her own or another's belief that she is a possession.

 

[cara susanna]

Maybe I'll hyphenate then for my legal name. :/

 

[busybusybusy]

More good reasons to get rid of the stupidity of the patriarchal ownership-by-name practice. Make your husband change his name, if anything, otherwise keep your name. You're not a possession.

This is actually part of my point. Having been married for a few years now, I actually want to switch to my husband's last name. I feel though that I am in the same boat as killer dillier and want to protect that anonymity, making it almost impossible to make that switch. If I can't that's fine, it's what I planned for, but if anyone has other suggestions I would be happy to hear them...

 

[erg923]

More good reasons to get rid of the stupidity of the patriarchal ownership-by-name practice. Make your husband change his name, if anything, otherwise keep your name. You're not a possession.

Geez, I hate when people do this.

Of course you're not a possession, but some people (ehm, MY wife for example) prefer to stick to tradition. Her rationale, as she explained it to me, is that she felt it was good way to symbolize that when one gets married, you do indeed lose some degree of your prior identity. You are indeed becoming part of someone else's life. There are sacrifices involved here. This is one of them. This is our personal view of the institution of marriage. I do not feel it to be "stupid."

I am not saying this is the "right" choice or the "wrong" choice, Im saying this is our choice...and frankly, where I grew-up, this is just how things are done. Period.

 

[KillerDiller]

I know traditional couples, hyphenated couples, couples who have kept their respective last names, couples in which the man has changed his name, and couples who have made up a new last name and both switched. It doesn't make any difference what the choice is as long as both members are happy with it. Somehow, though, there are always people who argue that one or more of these is the wrong choice 🙄.

 

[psychologyrun]

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[psychologyrun]

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[cara susanna]

Maan, I don't want to keep my maiden name legally. Not because I want to submit to the patriarchy, it's just my last name is super common.

 

[erg923]

One point, not to start an argument though, is that only the wife is being asked to lose some degree of her former identity when she changes her name to her husband's. If both spouses wanted to symbolize "losing" their identities to each other, then they would take each others' names (ie Smith and Jones both becoming "Smith-Jones" or "Smones" or something like that, silly as it sounds 🙂 )

Sigh. Yes, men dont give up anything when they get married. Its only the woman...🙄

Look, I didnt make up the tradition. We really dont need to analyze every tradition within the instituition of marriage in the name of women's lib. Whats next, no unity candle because it takes away from her
"individuality?" Get real. It is what it is. Yes, women are not propety, we get it, ok? We have loooong since moved past that. My wife viewed the name change as symbolic (as described above) and as a gesture of respect to myself and to my famlly. I happen to agree with this line of thinking. Some might not. I get that also.

 

[syzergy]

Hahaha. As usual, this thread has gotten a bit off track. Like cara susanna said, my last name is common and uninteresting. I have no attachment to it but my boyfriend's is incredibly unique and I'm excited to take his name. I'm not a big fan of a hyphenated name either, way too many syllables.

I wasn't trying to start a thread on sexism in society, I was simply wondering about the ramifications of changing your name mid-career. I don't do traditions, I haven't been dreaming about a white wedding since I was six, but I do want to take my husband's last name. Now I'm not so sure...

 

[psychologyrun]

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[ClinicalTrainee]

I've wondered about this too, but from a unique situation. I am divorced but kept my ex-husband's name because it's more interesting than my maiden name. If I get re-married, I'd far prefer socially to change my name to my new husband's name, both because of the commitments others have spoken about and so any possible children might have parents with the same name, but career wise I've already published a fair amount with this name. It feels weird to me to hang on to my ex-husband's name if I marry someone else, but the problems in changing it are the same as with a maiden name. It's a conundrum.

 

[PsychPhDone]

I plan on keeping my name. If the guy is open to a name change, I think I'd only be willing if we both adopted the new name.

In my research area and my undergrad, most of the women I respected most kept their own names, but I think everyone should just do whatever feels best for them. 🙂

 

[LovesToRead]

I got married midway through my PhD program and decided not to change my name legally. It was important to me that PsycINFO users and others interested in my research be able to easily locate ALL of my publications. I use my maiden name at work, both as a researcher and as a clinician, and use my husband's last name socially. His friends are not even aware that I did not take his name.

 

[psychologyrun]

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