When I got my doctorate, I was still unmarried and performed tons of research under my maiden name. Then I got married and decided to hyphenate because I didn't think others in the field would recognize my new last name...also, my mother-in-law worked on campus and our husbands had the same first and last names and that would be confusing!
However, my hyphenated name was a mile long and it kept causing problems--it wouldn't fit on nameplates or parking spaces or certificates, etc., plus it was a mouthful so after about 3 years, I just started using my husband's last name...it was easier because the kids had started coming by then, too. I was pleased to realize also that because of the 3 years of hyphenation, people in the field were still able to remember me as the researcher.
I still only use Dr., never Mrs. First, my in-laws with the same name still live very close and participate in lots of the same activities and second, I earned it!
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