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When I got married, I just added my husband's name to mine. So I am now Donna middlename maidenname husband'sname. My husband expected me to take his last name, and although I'm not too fond of it (it's a pain - people can never spell it although it's very very simple! Also, I get a lot of people that chuckle when they hear it and that irritates me.), I took it out of respect for his wishes. All that paperwork was an absolute pain!
However, we got married a few months before we graduated from college, and my diplomas read, "Donna middlename maidenname." When I graduate from law school and any other graduate programs I may pursue, the diplomas will also read, "Donna middlename maidenname." My reasoning was 1-if my husband ever dies or we get divorced, and I remarry, I will have a diploma w/ another man's name on it, 2-I earned (or will earn) the diploma on my own, and 3-no matter what, this is who I will always always be.
I happen to be a Notary Public. On my seal, my name is shown as Donna middleinitial maidenname husband'sname. Generally, this is how I sign everything requiring my signature (such as credit card receipts, etc.). Sometimes I'll drop my middle name and use my maiden name's initial...but this is if I'm in a hurry or if I don't have a lot of room to write.
Sometimes I wish I had hyphenated my name, but not b/c I'm trying to assert strength, but b/c I'm very devoted to my father, and I'm extremely proud of my family's background and history. It's one of the last things I'll have to tie me to my family...and I feel it's disrespectful to just drop it or ignore it.
I get extremely irritated when people assume I'm going to go by his last name. When I got married people assumed I would drop my maiden name, or people assumed I would drop my middle name. I also don't like to be referred to as "Mrs. husband'sfirstname husband'slastname."
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