To change or not to change name, that is the question I am posing in today’s blog. This is a long standing tradition that a woman changes her name to that of her partner. It is so funny when lots of couples opt for a traditional wedding but then buck the trend when it comes to name changing.
Are you changing your name? What are you thoughts on this tradition? Should men do it?
Did you know this interesting fact? Prince Philip was not able to give his wife his name when they married. In fact he made many changes to marry Princess Elizabeth. Philip was granted permission by George VI to marry Elizabeth. Prior to the official engagement announcement, he abandoned his Greek and Danish royal titles, converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and became a naturalised British subject, adopting the surname Mountbatten from his British maternal grandparents. After an official engagement of five months, as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten he married Elizabeth on 20 November 1947. Their children use the surname of Mountbatten-Windsor.
I am a massive fan of researching my family tree and I am fascinated that in both my family and my husband’s family, the mother’s maiden is often the first born’s middle name. My husband has his mother’s name as his middle name. This is a great way of keeping that piece of you, carrying on to the next generation. So a possible option for you if you are planning on a family after the marriage.
Some of my friends lead the double of life of two names. One for work and then one for homelife. I did consider this as it is tricky in my industry to get well known and with the name Gosling, it was memorable. I did change my name, but sometimes I do introduce myself on the phone as the ‘former Emma Gosling’ so people know who I am!
An Australian Bride to Be magazine survey from 2013 found that 80 per cent of women planned to change their name. In China brides rarely change their surname but in Japan it is required by law that married couples both share the same name! I think it is great we have the choice and we can be creative and flexible with what we want to do! Do leave a comment on here or on our Paperless Wedding Facebook page and let us know what you are going to do!
