Last name change

People have done that. However, you will most likely have to change your medical license as I believe it needs to have your legal last name. I would check with your state and maybe your professional board. Any legally binding signatures would have to include your legal last name, which would be your married name in this case. Whether or not you include your middle name is personal preference. You can also add your husband's last name to the end of yours without the hyphen, so like Amanda MiddleName MaidenLastName MarriedLastName

You definitely can make your maiden name your middle name and change your last name! I know many people who have done this. I'm not in the medical field but I'm guessing you would have to change your license because you are changing your last name. And you can sign your name however you want with your legal last name. Sounds like you want your maiden name to be present, so you could sign your full name.

I have a friend who did this, didn’t want to give up her maiden name so changed it to her middle name, not sure about the medical license though. Congrats and good luck!

Yes, that’s definitely an option. Any professional licenses would need to be transferred to your new legal name. You can sign your own name however you want, but most people don’t include their middle name in their signature.

Entirely up to you but you’ll have to change your medical license to your new legal name. I’m taking my fiancé’s last name. Haven’t decided if I’m keeping my middle name or changing it to my maiden name...

I hate my birth middle name so it was an easy decision to make my maiden name—which is very feminine, very me and a traditional girls name my middle name. I never use it in introductions, signatures, etc. but you certainly could if you wanted

I was told by my medical board I would have to change my medical license and PRACTICE BY my new legal last name, so that was a whole bunch of NOPE. I love my husband, but that was a big fat nope. I didn't even know him through school and residency so I wasn't having some patients call me Dr. Maidenname and others call me Dr. Marriedname, and doing all that paperwork with the medical board in addition to the regular amount of paperwork with the DMV/SS agencies just didn't sound worth it to me.

If I were you, I would just unofficially call yourself Mrs. Husbandsname and keep your name legally. It will be a LOT less headache.

With my job, I work with typing contracts for new mortgages and I notarize these contracts on a daily basis. I've seen this a lot and it is 100% a thing. With changing your name at all, I would think you'd have to change it on your medical license as well but I'm not in the medical field so I'm not sure how the whole process works.. And yes, once you legally change your name, if you were signing a document you would sign your first name, new legal middle name (your maiden name), and then your new last name (your fiance's last name) if you wanted to.

You would also have the option of just signing your first name and new last name as well. Keeping your maiden name as you middle name doesn't mean you always have to sign it. You can if you want b/c it'd be on your license, but it wouldn't be necessary to sign it all of the time.

That's a tough decision! I would definitely defer to the physician as she has been in your shoes. I'm a first-year medical student so luckily I didn't have to deal with those implications when I got married last summer. I changed my name to have my maiden name be my middle name so I could take my husband's last name but keep my maiden name with me. Even though my official name is Meagan O., I love having Meagan M. O. on my white coat! My father is a recently retired physician at the institution where I study at so keeping our family name as a part of my identity is a huge source of pride and sentiment for me!

That's a tough decision! I would definitely defer to the physician as she has been in your shoes. I'm a first-year medical student so luckily I didn't have to deal with those implications when I got married last summer. I changed my name to have my maiden name be my middle name so I could take my husband's last name but keep my maiden name with me. Even though my official name is Meagan O., I love having Meagan M. O. on my white coat! My father is a recently retired physician at the institution where I study at so keeping our family name as a part of my identity is a huge source of pride and sentiment for me!

Also, as far as signing your name I think it depends on the situation. If you're signing as Dr. [Last Name], I don't think you would use your middle name since it would imply your last name was hyphenated (Maiden-Last). If you were signing it as First Maiden Last M.D. then that seems appropriate since it is your middle name.

Yes you can do that. That’s how the women in my family have always done it, it was common where ai

I'm sure you will not be the only person in the world who has changed her name on her medical license. It's probably a bunch of forms and maybe some fees associated with it, and more than likely you'll have to have a copy of your marriage license and updated social security card. It might be a little annoying but it's up to you if you want to go through it. But once again, I am sure you are not the only medical professional who has changed the name on her license.

Yea, hyphenating was not for me either, because my maiden name practically rhymes with my husband's so I thought it would sound dumb. I always wanted to have the same name as my husband and future children, and since I was a journalist with hundreds of bylines, I thought about not changing my name. I'm glad I changed it and don't regret it.

A coworker I used to work with had a hyphenated name and she said, she wished she hadn't hyphenated it because it made her name so long. Some people won't agree, and everyone's experience is different! So, you do you boo!

View Quoted Comment That’s amazing! It’s nice that you get to keep your name. Silly question, obviously on official documents you will sign Meagan M.O.but if you are signing like a check from a restaurant do you sign Meagan M. O. Or Meagan O.

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I usually just sign Meagan O.! My maiden name is nine letters long (+ 6 in my last name) so it's a lot to write out all at once sometimes haha!