A Rose is a Rose Unless She's A Smith-Rose

Adrienne Martini — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Yes, "Martini" is my real last name. I come from a long line of Martinis, in fact. And, no, I tend not to drink them because I'm a wimp. Neither my children nor my spouse, however, are Martinis and it's a decision that we all feel fairly comfortable with. But the whole last name thing can cause all kinds of hand wringing for women my age -- I can see 40 from here -- and younger.

The New York Times' Lisa Belkin chats about the who-gets-whose last name question on her equal parenting blog, which was spun out of her latest cover story. For me, it was interesting how few women she talked to kept their "maiden" names. But then I started to think about all of the married women I knew. Most of them took their husband's last name, which was surprising.

So am I the only one surprised by this? How many of you changed your name at marriage? Added a hyphen? Did something else? Do you think your expectations have anything to do with when you got married?

Photo credit: Necropolitan Tours

Strollerderby : kid's name

A Rose is a Rose Unless She's A Smith-Rose