# Changing name after divorce **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2014, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-name-after-divorce/692509 "2014-07-07T02:20:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-name-after-divorce/692509/41 "2014-07-09T15:54:51Z")
I got married when I was 40. I kept my maiden name because I didn’t want the hassle of changing 22 years worth of legal/financial documents. I don’t mind when people call me Mrs. TheElf, though. I don’t bother to correct them unless it may make a difference in a business transaction or something. My sister’s 3 girls have 2 different surnames, two carry her maiden name, one has her father’s surname. No one seems to care and they are still sisters. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-name-after-divorce/692509/42 "2014-07-09T16:15:16Z")
It’s really not that hard. Any couple that can raise a child together is equipped to manage a conversation about what said kids last name should be. With hubby and I, this took all of five minutes (we went Portuguese style). It’s not difficult, it’s not confusing, and there is no benefit whatsoever to a “standard” except that maybe guys whose ego is tied up in their last name are more likely to get their way. > [@KarlGrenze](#): > > All of this. In many cultures the names remain the same throughout life. Nobody bats an eye, the teachers are not surprised, nobody demands to know that the kids are or not the woman’s, etc. Actually, in some countries, if the mother and child share the same last name, it would be understood that the father is most likely out of the picture. Even if that assumption is incorrect (perhaps both parents decided to give the woman’s last name to the kid to keep a surname going). And in some cultures, if a husband and wife share a last name, people assume they are committing incest! ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-name-after-divorce/692509/43 "2014-07-09T16:28:11Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > So you carry your children’s birth certificates around everywhere you go? The whole point of a card would be to be able to provide proof at a moments notice. I have never been in a position to have to provide proof that my child is mine at a moments notice, ever. I have trouble thinking of a single scenario when I would need to prove they are my kids that couldn’t be anticipated and the proper documentation provided. My kids are listed on my health insurance cards when they’ve gone to the doctor or ER. I brought their birth certs to register them for school. I’m listed as parent/guardian on camp/school etc forms and simply show ID, if needed. Under what circumstances would this be necessary? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-name-after-divorce/692509/44 "2014-07-09T22:44:00Z")
In Quebec, women are not legally permitted to change from their maiden name. They get to choose their children’s names (possibly hyphenated), but once chosen it can be changed only by formal court order. I know a woman who has the same name as her husband (they are actually cousins). Her employer could not issue pay checks after that law was enacted since the employer changed his software to require that the maiden name differ from the spouse’s name. They just gave her spouse a slightly different name. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-name-after-divorce/692509/45 "2014-07-09T23:22:05Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I have never been in a position to have to provide proof that my child is mine at a moments notice, ever. I have trouble thinking of a single scenario when I would need to prove they are my kids that couldn’t be anticipated and the proper documentation provided. > > My kids are listed on my health insurance cards when they’ve gone to the doctor or ER. > I brought their birth certs to register them for school. > I’m listed as parent/guardian on camp/school etc forms and simply show ID, if needed. > > Under what circumstances would this be necessary? Immigration official at airports for one. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-name-after-divorce/692509/46 "2014-07-09T23:45:15Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Immigration official at airports for one. That would be a “planned for” example. Of course I’d have their passports, birth certificates and any custody agreements (if relevant) in hand. I’m talking about being stopped unexpectedly and getting challenged about my legal relationship to my kids, such that having a government issued card I should carry would make any sense. ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-name-after-divorce/692509/47 "2014-07-10T15:26:53Z")
I, myself, will not be changing my name after the OP’s divorce (no, I won’t “Think of the Children!!!”). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-name-after-divorce/692509.md?page=2)