So I am finishing my first of four semesters in my ADN program. I have been married before** but did not legally change my last name, so my SN title is with my maiden name. My boyfriend and I do plan to get married but do not know when. The delay is mostly about getting our careers in a stable place. I know planning a big event at this time is ill-advised, so that is not necessarily what I am asking about. Part of me would love to take his name soon so that professional connections I form are easily attached to the name I plan to carry.
Mostly curious to hear your experience with marital name changes of any kind, when you did it, pros and cons.
Thank you!
**For curiosity/ if it may change your input, my husband was killed in a car accident.
I got married about 1.5 years after becoming an RN. Changing my name was not a big deal (other than the tedious process of making sure every single document was changed). It had no bearing on any professional connections I made.
When in the military, I met a senior NCO who stated that she did not change her surname at all because she had an established career under her maiden name and did not want to upset the apple cart. She had married her senior NCO husband late in both their careers. Probably best in their case as she ended up divorcing him around the time they retired from the military anyway. I don't recall being in much of a hurry to change my name. Wore my old name tag until my bosses at the time suggested that I get the administrative chore done. Never even occurred to me to hyphenate or keep the old name forever. I think it would be nice if the OP were able to marry and make this change before starting her new career. Just makes things easier.
buttercup9, ASN, BSN, MSN
62 Posts
I got married about 1.5 years after becoming an RN. Changing my name was not a big deal (other than the tedious process of making sure every single document was changed). It had no bearing on any professional connections I made.