Some people don't want to lose their identity, or they keep it for professional reasons because that's what their known by in the professional world. This includes celebrities as well. Could you imagine Angelina being Angelina Pitt instead of Angelina Jolie? And Jennifer Aniston being Jennifer Pitt and then Jennifer Theroux?
Since we're on the subject, how do you feel about divorced moms keeping the husband's name? Some people think it's wrong, and odd, if the husband remarries several times and there are 3 women walking around with his last name from prior marriages. I'm just curious.
My father had a hyphenated name because that's what they do in other countries, he had his grandmother's maiden name hyphenated by his father's last name (his parents were divorced and he had nothing to do with his mother so he didn't use her name). I only used his father's last name as a kid rather than the hyphenated version, and then when I married, my husband and his family pressured me to change my name and it was a real pain in the butt. Now I think that pressuring someone to change her name speaks volumes about insecurity and trying to impose, but back then, I was younger and not as wise, and I was afraid to speak my mind.
In the end, I had to have my degrees changed, my license, social security card, voter registration card, credit cards, etc. to please him. Now that we're divorcing, I REALLY do not want to go through the process of changing everything yet AGAIN to my maiden name, and then if I remarry, change everything AGAIN to my married name, so I am just going to keep his last name, which is my daughter's last name too, and if I ever remarry, THEN I will change my name, or I may just go back to my maiden name, I still haven't decided, and it's not really a concern at this time. Besides, my daughter likes sharing the same last name with me anyway so if it makes her feel better, why argue? It doesn't really bother me to keep his name. Besides, my maiden name is just as confusing when it comes to pronouncing and spelling. At least I can tell when a telemarketer's calling because they butcher my last name no matter which name I use, LOL ;)
But, it seems to bother some men that I would still keep my ex's last name and they keep trying to convince me to change it. For the sake of convenience on my part, the answer's always no. I bet if they had to change their name multiple times too, they would understand why I want to avoid the hassle and the big waste of time. I don't understand why someone's choice of last name is such a big deal. In the end, I think it's no one's business but the individual's whether they choose to keep their maiden name or use their married name and like Je§§!¢AWe§§!¢A said, there are other REAL things to worry about and truly consider depressing, than something as trivial as deciding whose last name to use which is such a personal decision that is to be respected no matter the outcome.
PS: Melissa J., I don't know what you meant to say when you said "I don't think I would want to send my kids to school with different last names so that everyone would think I was divorced. " And what would be the big deal if people assumed you're divorced anyway because of a decision to keep your name? You clarify things or tell them to mind their own business and that is it. Considering 50% of marriages end in divorce and many married people keep their maiden name anyway, I don't understand the stigma.