A Bride's Hardest Decision: Maiden Name vs. Married Name

Aug. 26, 2009 — -- For some women, agonizing over the style of their wedding dress or the flavor of their cake is not nearly as difficult as deciding whether they'll say "I do" not only to their husband's hand in marriage but also to taking his last name.

"I thought long and hard about carrying on the tradition of my own [family's] name or starting my own tradition and taking my husband's name," said 30-year-old Aga McDaniel. She eventually decided to take her husband's last name after her May 2007 wedding.

Rhiannon Kelleher, who will get married in July 2010, said that she and her fiancé also spent quite a bit of time discussing whether she would take his last name, Bruins.

"It wasn't a decision I took lightly," said Kelleher, 24, who ended up deciding to take her husband-to-be's name.

McDaniel and Kelleher are not alone in their decisions: According to two recent surveys, the majority of American women think brides should take their groom's name and many think it should be a legal requirement to do so.

Researchers at Indiana University and the University of Utah found that of approximately 850 people they surveyed nationwide, 71 percent of them agreed it is better for women to change their name upon marriage.

About 50 percent of respondents, men and women who ranged from 18 to 90, also thought that it should be a legal requirement for a woman to change her name upon marriage, according to the study.

In an even larger survey conducted by The Knot Wedding Network, 88 percent of the 18,000 couples nationwide who were asked about their name-changing plans said they were planning to adopt their spouse's name.