Name change & keeping professional identity

RWHarris

Could anyone share personal experience with changing your surname but keeping a professional identity under your former name?

We both do very different work but it is locked quite significantly in our given names. I absolutely don't wish to and can't change my name in a professional capacity. My partner feels similarly.

However, with marriage and family planning this question has arisen. I don't wish to take my family name forward on a personal level.

To cut out the waffle, what are the practical challenges here? Getting our names legally changed, then changing all of our official documents - eg passports, drivers license, banks, mortgage, all of that. Then is it as simple as carrying on your old, now defunct name, only in the small professional area that it operates in ?

Any hurdles to be aware of?

Edit: I don't know if relevant, but I work for myself, whereas my partner is employed.

I apologise if this is a bit simple to ask about, but i am under a high mental load atm! Thank you!

silvercar

My daughter in law has kept her maiden name for all work and legal purposes. She is happy to be known as Mrs (hubby’s name) and their child carries his dad’s surname. Hasn’t caused them any problems.

maman

I've kept my former name for mainly professional reasons. All my documents (passport, bank accounts etc) are in this name.

Way back, I had a note added to my bank account so that when someone mistakenly gave me a cheque in my husband's name there were no issues. That's obviously not really relevant now.

Other than that I didn’t need to inform anyone as I wasn't making a change on marriage IYSWIM.

Savvy_Sue

The thing to remember is that when booking some kinds of travel, tickets need to be in the same name as the passport. If you never book travel for work, or you've retained your original name on your passport, no problem. At least, until Ms A takes the lead in booking through a travel agent, and tickets are booked for Mr and Ms A, instead of Ms A and Mr B...

Other than that, there don't need to be any issues. You can call yourself anything you like, as long as there's no intention to deceive.

Several of my colleagues kept their own name on marriage.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6653647/name-change-keeping-professional-identity

So, let's consider a pairing of Harris & Jones through blissful matrimony. In some cases, the couple will just take one of the surnames and both use that exclusively going forward.

There are other options:

- Take one of the surnames and use going forwards, except the one changing their name continues to use their current name for professional purposes.

- Take one of the surnames but the one changing their name adopts their current name as a middle name, so R W Harris remains R W Harris but T C Jones becomes T C Jones Harris

- Both take both names, so R W Jones Harris and T C Jones Harris

and so on

Emmia

I think the main problem of having two names is travel booking - if you travel for work and someone else books your tickets, there's a risk they end up in the "wrong name" depending on what your passport says.

If you book your own travel this is less of an issue.

Personally, whilst I changed my name when I got married (more than a decade ago), I haven't got around to updating the name on my premium bonds... So I have financial assets in both names.

sheramber

A friend who was a hospital consultant kept her maiden name for everything.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6653647/name-change-keeping-professional-identity

You really have two options, one is to retain your own name everywhere but your kids be known by your partner's surname or you do change your name other than for professional purposes.

Travel is the main issue, making sure tickets are bought in the right name if you go with option 2. If you are known by another name it also needs to go into your passport as an observation. We're in a similarish situation other than the Mrs can't change her name in her home country (without bribing a judge) and so has an observation that she has a passport in another name. She's had no problem since HMPO started doing this. Anecdotal evidence from others is that the US immigration weren't too happy about it with a colleague who's a lawyer who has also retained his surname professionally but has double-barrelled his name in his personal life (his wife is a doctor and has done the same)

thegreenone

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81869240#Comment_81869240

How does that work with winnings being paid into an account with a different name?

Emmia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81871764#Comment_81871764

I have my winnings reinvested in PBs. I don't hold the maximum.

If I won big! Then I can prove I am the same person. In addition my bank account making deposits and receiving PB withdrawals is in my married name (but it is an account held /opened before I got married).

Never had a problem making deposits or withdrawing money.

bouicca21

Never changed my name. As someone above suggested only problem was the bank as my old fashioned parents always used my married name, so I had to take my marriage certificate in so they would let me pay in a cheque in that name.

Outside of work I wasn’t bothered if I got called Mrs Hisname instead of Ms Bouicca21. Mind you he would be really annoyed if anyone called him Mr Bouicca21! The children took his surname.