Happy and Blue 2 posted about changing your name. I was going to post a reply in his blog but my reply became so long winded I moved it here.
Growing up I always wanted to get married and change my name. I have two sisters and we would all consider what would be better than our maiden names. Pretty much every name in the book made our list. There were only a few like Drudge that we decided to pass on. But, Brown, has always been easy on the spelling and pronouncing. The only thing I get asked is if it has an ‘e’ at the end.
Then I got married and finally had that chance to change my name, just as my sisters and I had always planned. But, when it came up with my husband to be, I didn’t want to change it. It was mine, it was me. He was pretty insistant on me taking his name. So I caved in the end. Why not? Hadn’t I always wanted to change it anyway.
A few years later, divorced from above husband, the judge asked if I was keeping my married name or going back to my maiden name. I think I kept the married name only because I was 30-something and didn’t want people to assume I had gotten to be that old without ever being married. That, and I had already changed it once which was a hassle as far as the writing I was doing. It’s much easier to have one name rather than hope people can find you.
Now, here I am, a few years after the divorce, a move back across the border where no one (outside of my immediate family) knows me by anything but Brown. Even the government and all my ID is Brown. The bank said not to worry, it wouldn’t matter. So, I left it. But, then something came up and there was a big to-do about having a different name. Was I up to something? Plotting to take over the world!? So, now I have gone back to Brown, kind of by default. For the longest time neither name felt like me. But, now that I have actually started using Brown again I’m finding it is like a comfortable old pair of shoes. All worn in, in all the right places.
My married name was Tripp, I really thought I was missing out on being a travel writer. But, as much as I like road trips I don’t really want to write about them.