Recently, on an earth science forum, someone asked about names, and whether she (as a young academic) should keep hers or take his. I wrote a long response and thought that I might share it for those who may be interested in life as a female academic or just naming in general. Enjoy!
When I got married to my beloved Jason I kept my last name; in part for identity, in part for feminism, but mostly to avoid US customs and immigration horrors. As an international student in the US (on an F-1 visa), I was terrified of changing my name on my passport, Visa, credit card, SSN, SIN, etc. in two different countries. This problem was exacerbated a little because we had to "hurry up" our wedding plans due to visa issues and field work plans that were set in stone. All this added up to me saying "forget it, there is too much that could go wrong/get delayed... I'm keeping my name (for now/academic purposes)".
As an academic with a few papers out at the time (and one of two daughters of an only child father) I am proud that my name can live on, even if only in academia, and it's nice to know that whatever happens, my CV will look as uncomplicated as the next candidate. I know of people in similar fields that married and took the same last name and who often have their papers confused.
That said I think my dad secretly wishes to write a "Martindale and Martindale" paper some day.
Outside of academia is a bit different, officially we're still Rowan Martindale and Jason Visser, but we are colloquially known as the Vissedales (because Martinsser sounded silly). This also helps distinguish us from the numerous families of the extended relatives (e.g. the Kingston Vissers vs. the Niagra Vissers etc.), especially since we move a lot. I know of at least one couple who has made their amalgamated name official, several who use it informally, and once we settle into a permanent job (and country) we may make Vissedale official too (i.e. Dr. Martindale, Mr. Visser but Mr. and Mrs. Vissedale). We haven't figured out what we will do when it's time for kids but I think that hyphenation would be terrible with my long last name. We'll probably pick one, or go with the amalgamated name (I have also toyed with the idea of "Martin" and "Dale" as middle names should we have boys with the last name of Visser). There are a ton of different options with kids (daughters go my mom's name, sons by dad's vs. all Dad's or all Mom's vs. hyphenation vs. maiden names as middle names etc.) but I think both Jason and I would like our family to be a family (and thus have a family name)... but anyhow, that's a problem to be figured out later (hopefully not to the horror of inlaws.... who I know are reading this....)
Anyhow, that's my 2 cents on life as a woman with her own last name... feel free to add your own variations in the comments. ;)
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