maiden name

Looking for name change advice or some tips for newlywed life? The MissNowMrs experts have created state-specific name change articles and checklists for you. We’ve chronicled our recommendations for how to travel while changing your name AND how to handle voting during the transition.

We’ve also compiled our best guidance for how to handle difficult sister in laws, holidays as newlyweds, the ever-annoying baby questions, and much more. Why? Because, while we are name change experts, we’re also newlywed wives, moms, and sisters.

We hope our name change advice articles help smooth your transition to your new name, and a whole new phase of life. Congratulations and best wishes from the entire MissNowMrs team!

What’s In A Name?

Newlywed and considering changing your name? There are so many decisions that come along with “I do”. Things like whose insurance to merge under, where to live, whether to combine all of your finances, which family you celebrate which holiday with and of course whether to change your name or not. It’s completely understandable to be overwhelmed by the concept of name change after marriage, especially with all of the extra decisions that must be made as newlyweds.

Take some time to consider what your maiden name means to you. Does your maiden name roll off your tongue and remind you of your heritage and various degrees and accomplishments you’ve made? Does it make you feel proud and define your sense of “you”? If so, you should consider keeping your maiden name in some way if you decide to change your name after marriage. You have the option to hyphenate your maiden name with your spouse’s last name, take both last names sans hyphen, take your maiden name as a second middle name or replace your middle name with your maiden name (which is an added bonus for those with horrid middle names).

Conversely, if you think about your maiden name and remember being mercilessly teased as a child or being a the very end of the alphabet and called last for everything you may have extra incentive to change your name to your spouse’s last name and drop your maiden name completely. Some women see married name change as a tangible way to show that they’re “all in” in their marriage.
Regardless of the factors that influence the decision, name change after marriage is a very personal and permanent decision. Consider playing the Married Name Game to have its patent-pending algorithm generate your ideal married name change combination!

Married Name-Change: Not to be Misunderstood

As MissNowMrs.com was created to relieve you from unnecessary stress, research, and form completion, we also want to be sure that we provide you with all of the fine details (cause that’s what us women love!) and make sure that you’re “in the know” when and if you decide to change your name!

First things first! After you have said your I Do’s, your Officiant will often times announce to your guests, “I now pronounce to you, Mr. and Mrs. XYZ”! Although your marriage is official, unfortunately that doesn’t mean that your name has automatically changed to your spouses’. Hence the reason for MissNowMrs.com, as we figured out first hand that changing to your new married name can be quite a hassle, so we’ve created this service to lay it out in black and white for you! In the past few years, we have discovered that there are quite a few newlyweds under the impression that the bride’s name is automatically changed once you are married (oh if only all things in life could be that simple)! For some brides, however, this is good news, as not everyone chooses to change their name!

Now that you know there is some necessary paperwork that must be filed when changing your name –here’s the good news! If you have discussed your name-change options with your spouse, you can get a jump-start on the process and complete all of your forms, print them off, and prepare for filing with your MissNowMrs account… before you are married! You will need to wait to submit your forms until after your marriage, as you will need a copy of your marriage certificate, but you will already have everything prepared and ready to go! Once you have registered for an account with us, it is yours to access via email and password, so that you may work at your own pace.

Please share with us and fellow newlyweds any misconceptions that you had in regard to your married name change, or anything that you wish you would’ve known before your wedding when it comes to changing your name!

Maiden to Middle Name Change

Taking her maiden name as a middle name after marriage is one of the more popular name change choices of newlyweds today. Many women are attached to their maiden names for various reasons: they built a career using it, they are the only child to carry on the family name or they can’t imagine “being anyone else”. Adding her maiden name as a middle name allows for a woman to “keep” her maiden name while taking her husband’s last name, but avoid the mouthful of a hyphenated name.

News flash! More and more states are no longer recognizing a woman’s right to change her middle name based on marriage. What does this mean to newlyweds in the middle of name change? If you live in California, New Jersey, New York, New York City, Ohio (unless your Marriage Certificate shows your intended middle name), Pennsylvania or Washington you are unable to take your maiden name as your middle name as part of your married name change.

Be aware of your state’s policies regarding name change. If you file your government forms with a new middle name, but live in a state that disallows maiden to middle name change you will end up with mismatched identification documents. The reality of having a different name on your state driver’s license and your U.S. Passport can be unsettling. Travel will be tedious as you need to book any international flights in the name on your passport, but local flights should match your state driver’s license. There can also be issues if security is requiring two forms of ID (as yours won’t match). We highly recommend choosing one married name option and using it on ALL of your documents.

Petitioning the Court System

If a bride is dead set on changing her middle name, she will have to petition the U.S. court system via an attorney for a legal name change. This can be a very long and expensive process, but it might be the only way a couple can come to a married name they can agree upon. The moral of this blog posting is be sure to research your state’s name change policies before you begin your name change.

If you’d like to speak with a married name change expert about your particular state and situation, call the gurus at MissNowMrs. They’ll provide you with the most up-to-date information on your state for free! They can also help you consider alternate name change options if you end up being in a non-middle name change state.

Have you tried to change your name and run into red tape and state-specific issues? Share your story today and help another newlywed avoid unnecessary name change hassle! You can also check out our name change checklist for more help.

Social Security Name Change: 3 Things the S.S. Office Will NEVER Tell You!

If you’re interested in Social Security name change, you must have decided to change your name in some way after your marriage…so congratulations! The first step on you quest to become a Mrs. is to complete and file your SS-5 Social Security form. Many states require that you file your Social Security form 24 hours before changing your name on your driver’s license, or anything else. Other state offices must see your new married name on your Social Security card before they will file your other name-change forms. It’s very important to understand your state’s policies before you begin filing your forms, or you may end up making a very complicated process (married name-change) even more tedious!

If you’ve dug through your files and safety deposit box and can’t find your Social Security card with your maiden name on it, don’t panic. One of the most common married name change misconceptions is that you will need your old Social Security card to file for you new one. The truth is…you don’t!
You do need to find out your state’s policies on married name change. Some states recognize a woman’s right to change her middle name to her maiden name after marriage, and some do not. Depending on where you live, you may need to alter the married name you’d envisioned using, or contemplate a legal name change instead of a married name change to get the middle and last name combination you want. The Social Security office will allow you to change your middle name to your maiden name on your Social Security card regardless of your state of residency. The result? If you live in a state that does not allow middle name change due to marriage you will have one married name on your Social Security card and a different one on U.S. Passport, state driver’s license, mortgage…ect! The resulting complications and confusion these differences can cause are unbelievable.
Most newlyweds are under the impression that they have to stand in an endless line at the Social Security office to file their name-change form and get their new Social Security card with their new married name. Guess what? You don’t! There is a mail-in filing option available for the SS-5 name change form. This option does involve sending some very important paperwork through the mail, so it is important to fully understand the process before you decide to take this route.

Now that you know the 3 things the Social Security office will never tell you, filing for your social security name change should go smoothly. Have you thought about filing all of your other name change forms?! If the entire married name change process seems overwhelming, again don’t panic! MissNowMrs is a married name change app and service designed to take newlyweds through ALL of the paperwork necessary to go from Miss to Mrs.!

Why spend hours trying to figure out this frustrating process when you could be focusing on the fun of being a newlywed? Let the MissNowMrs name change experts guide you through your married name change in half an hour!

Help Me Change My Name

New Year, New Year’s Resolution… New Married Name?!

Considering a new married name in the New Year? It seems that when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Day everyone wants to come up with the best New Year’s Resolution, that works for you, and more importantly, one that you can stick to!

We’ve all heard the common resolution. Things like to lose weight, to be a better person, to pursue a hobby. And for some, to finally change to their new married name! Some women put off their married name change for a variety of reasons, but the number one seems to be that they aren’t quite sure how they feel about losing their maiden name.

Often times, women feel like they lose a sense of self identity by changing their name after marriage, or they are well-established in their careers and don’t want to start over under a new name. You may still keep your maiden name; you do have options! After a while (some times weeks, months, or even years), women decide that they would like to change to their spouse’s last name because of children, or some other reason.

So, here’s where the questions begin. Can you still use MissNowMrs to assist with your name change if it has been some time since you were married? Is it still legal? The answer to both of those questions is YES!

As long as you have a US Certified Marriage Certificate (to show legal proof of your marriage) you may change to your married name, and we at MissNowMrs.com are happy to assist you in doing so by providing you with a streamlined, simple solution to this process! Wait, you had a destination wedding; no problem! Even if you were married and have a Certified Marriage Certificate from outside of the US, you may still set up an account with MissNowMrs.com. You may be required to have your foreign Marriage Certificate authenticated and translated by your local court house (in order to use it as legal proof of marriage in the US) prior to filing for your name change. Please contact us with ANY questions regarding your name change, as we are always delighted to assist you!