Amal Alamuddin has changed her name professionally

Yes, I didn't want to insult my brother and make him feel even more abandoned. (He is now in the process of changing his name and lives in a country where wives do not change their names.)

sorry, spent so long writing i crossed with annie herself

i agree with your questions there chunderella, but i can also see why someone in annie's position would avoid making the big statement of a namechange at 18yo, and would opt for the socially-accepted namechange on marriage, which won't create a lot of potentially abusive fallout (if that is the case here)

Chund

I still have dissonance about the reasons why I have adopted my husbands name. I am aware of the feminist arguments and feel uncomfortable.

I wasn't empowered enough to do anything about it at 18- in fact it has taken me a long time to get to the point of wanting to marry or deciding what to do about my name. Yes I could have changed it at any time but part of the damage I suffered was a kind of emotional paralysis about what to do. And the ramifications upon the rest of my family were another limiting factor to my taking action.

I spent ages trying to think of another surname that had meaning. I couldn't. They all seemed tokenistic to me whereas having a unifying name- one that reflected his wider family was (and remains) very important to me- a woman with very little decent birth family of her own.

And yes, I am aware of the unconscious schemas and drives that make taking his name the easiest choice for me. And the reality of' choice' in a patriarchal world.

I have taken on my husbands name. The reasons I did this was because I detest my father and had no choice but to carry his name as a child and young adult. However I do have a choice as to what I now call myself. My husband has a lovely lovely surname and although I considered changing my name legally to another one, I couldn't think of a better name than his.

The day I rid myself of my fathers name was one of the happiest of my life.

I don't find it offensive. But I do think that if you have objections to name-changing on marriage you shouldn't create a distinction between working women and SAHM.

Yy to that, Biffy.

When my bloody darling DH heard DD and I discussing this issue this morning, his contributions to the discussion were:

1. Why do you all get at each other? Surely it's everyone's individual choice. And

2. She looks sensational today - have you seen the pictures of her in Greece?

And he would regard himself as extremely enlightened on feminist issues. Good God we have a long way to go. Sigh…...

Probably kept her name

I wonder what she'd've done if she married Mr Smith next door?

it is particularly interesting in this instance. as no one (beyond her immediate circle presumably, who actually know what her views and intentions are) would have been surprised if amal hadn't changed her name. there are very good reasons for her not changing her name, and GC is an actor where many colleagues either have professional names or don't change their name on marriage. so it would have been completely natural for her to keep her name and he to keep his. but she has chosen to change it, which is an active decision, so clearly she sees a benefit to the change. she may or may not intend it as a statement, but regardless it is one in this situation. my feeling is that the US political plans may be very relevant

Merry mouse

And I think we are getting the crux here.

Some people were implying that this one woman's decision impacts all women.

Others were implying it impacts no women.

My view is the answer is neither of those. This one woman's decision doesn't impact all women. For those women whose name is their brand there are other high profile examples (including QCs) who haven't changed names and to the vast majority of women their name isn't part of their brand.

I doubt she feels she has to send an email

Thinking about it, I suppose having your wedding and name change covered by the international press is a pretty big publicity campaign...

Changing your name can be like changing your business or brand name.

I suppose you could have a big publicity campaign: the barrister formerly know as Jane Marathon is now Jane Snickers - or you could just keep the same name that has worked so successfully over the years.

Of course this isn't important to everyone, but it's just not true to say that it isn't important to anyone.

But the discussion isn't about women generally otherwise the working women vs SAHM distinction wouldn't have been drawn

I agree with Chunderella's post about the change of name impact for some people in some fields. For example....In the last couple of months I have had people contact me who didn't know how to get in contact with me so they googled me. This ended up with me getting business. They would have struggled to find me, maybe, if I had changed my name.

However if you're a superstar in your field (like Amal) and in the unusual circumstances of having married a global household name (like Amal) then it makes no difference as people will find you. But yes, unless you can tick either of these boxes, if you're in a role where your name is part of your brand (that is more than just being a professional) then continuing with a professional name is important. This does not apply to the vast majority of women in the workplace, just like Amal's circumstances don't apply to the vast majority of us. If I think of my field, it really doesn't matter to the vast majority, who are all professional, but in my role where I am revenue generating and my name and reputation form part of my brand, what my professional name is, is incredibly important.

No, Littlebear, no one is disputing that, for you, it has made little difference.

What people are saying is that, for them, and for other women in their fields, and for many many other women, it does.

It's the difference between how something affects one woman, and how it affects women as a class that we're trying to discuss here.

Although I do know a man who changed his name (including professionally) in his fifties. He inherited a title.