I kept my name when I married, and my birth last name happened to be hyphenated--both my mother and father's names (Libby is a pen name). Often people assume my hyphenated last name is my maiden name and my husband's name, but nope. Hyphenated since birth! And luckily there's no one in my immediate family or my husband's family who changed their name when they married so it is very normalized for us.
In NYS it is legal to use any name as long as there is no "intent to defraud." I could not use the name Leslie Uggams or Katharine Hepburn, obviously. However, due to incidents of anti-Semitism during auditions I changed my last name from my birthname (my father's surname, which is a guild name in England, but considered "Jewish" here in the US) to my mother's maiden name. Ironically, her father, who had a very German surname at birth "dejudified" it in 1920 or so when he wanted a byline in a periodical as well as a job in advertising (back when one had to check a box labeled "religion" or write it in. And he was told to write "Presbyterian" and asked his mentor what they believed in case there was a quiz at the end of the job interview. He became Carroll Carroll from Carroll Weinschenk ("wine steward" auf Deutsch). I was Leslie Carroll professionally for years with all my credit cards and id (I didn't have a driver's license then, but a NYID). I never took my first husband's surname or that of my current husband. However, the USGOV mandates that you have a legal name change if you want the name on your passport to match the name on your other documents. This became hell when I was traveling overseas. The name on the credit card I used to buy my ticket didn't match the passport. I couldn't check in online in advance because ... red flags. I always had to see a counter agent in the terminal. It became extremely problematic when my husband and I were traveling to China and needed a visa as well. ALL THE NAMES had to be the same. So I applied for a legal name change. It cost me about $800 all told, with lawyer's fees and document filing fees. (I was living in Denver then). Now all my docs are consistent. But I still bristle when people call me by the wrong surname. I chose to be who I am based on the unconditional love and support my maternal grandparents gave me for my passion for the arts since childhood, and to honor my own grandfather's history with our nation's continuing history of anti-Semitism as well as my own experience. And when it comes to voting -- a reminder to everyone: this is one of our 2 rights in America (the other being jury duty). Our foremothers fought and starved for it. Don't take it lightly. VOTE IN EVERY ELECTION--from school board to the presidency. Don't skip any of them! Our vote IS our voice. And the only way we can turn things around and be heard.
I kept my name when I married, and my birth last name happened to be hyphenated--both my mother and father's names (Libby is a pen name). Often people assume my hyphenated last name is my maiden name and my husband's name, but nope. Hyphenated since birth! And luckily there's no one in my immediate family or my husband's family who changed their name when they married so it is very normalized for us.
In NYS it is legal to use any name as long as there is no "intent to defraud." I could not use the name Leslie Uggams or Katharine Hepburn, obviously. However, due to incidents of anti-Semitism during auditions I changed my last name from my birthname (my father's surname, which is a guild name in England, but considered "Jewish" here in the US) to my mother's maiden name. Ironically, her father, who had a very German surname at birth "dejudified" it in 1920 or so when he wanted a byline in a periodical as well as a job in advertising (back when one had to check a box labeled "religion" or write it in. And he was told to write "Presbyterian" and asked his mentor what they believed in case there was a quiz at the end of the job interview. He became Carroll Carroll from Carroll Weinschenk ("wine steward" auf Deutsch). I was Leslie Carroll professionally for years with all my credit cards and id (I didn't have a driver's license then, but a NYID). I never took my first husband's surname or that of my current husband. However, the USGOV mandates that you have a legal name change if you want the name on your passport to match the name on your other documents. This became hell when I was traveling overseas. The name on the credit card I used to buy my ticket didn't match the passport. I couldn't check in online in advance because ... red flags. I always had to see a counter agent in the terminal. It became extremely problematic when my husband and I were traveling to China and needed a visa as well. ALL THE NAMES had to be the same. So I applied for a legal name change. It cost me about $800 all told, with lawyer's fees and document filing fees. (I was living in Denver then). Now all my docs are consistent. But I still bristle when people call me by the wrong surname. I chose to be who I am based on the unconditional love and support my maternal grandparents gave me for my passion for the arts since childhood, and to honor my own grandfather's history with our nation's continuing history of anti-Semitism as well as my own experience. And when it comes to voting -- a reminder to everyone: this is one of our 2 rights in America (the other being jury duty). Our foremothers fought and starved for it. Don't take it lightly. VOTE IN EVERY ELECTION--from school board to the presidency. Don't skip any of them! Our vote IS our voice. And the only way we can turn things around and be heard.
Wow, that's a truly scary warning, Maya, and so practical. Thank you!