Mrs2Be

Changing Your Name on Marriage

When you get married you actually have a number of options open to you regarding your married surname. Many people think that it is automatic for the wife to take her husband's surname but whilst this is still the most popular option, it is not the only one you have.

It is down to personal choice, but you have the following options open to you:

  • Continue using your current surname

  • Take your husband's surname

  • Change to a double-barrelled surname

  • Take your husband's surname and make your current surname your middle name

  • "Fuse" your surnames together to create a new surname

Some of these options will require you to change your surname by Deed Poll but the first two do not.

Continue using your current surname

If this is your option of choice you do not need to do anything as you are not changing your legal surname. However, you may still wish to change your title from Miss to Mrs. If that is the case you will need to inform certain parties such as your bank that you wish to do so and a copy of your marriage certificate will normally be required.

Take your husband's surname

This is the traditional option and if you chose to stick with tradition, you will need to provide evidence of your name change in the form of your marriage certificate. Some parties will accept a copy, or a "certified copy" of your marriage certificate, others will require an original for example, the Passport Office. It might be a good idea to purchase additional copies at the time of your marriage just in case.

If you wish to keep your family name whilst still taking on your new husband's family name, there are a few additional options open to you. These are:

Double Barrelled Surnames

This option will allow you to use both your own family name and that of your new husband by linking them together with or without a hyphen. An example of which is Mrs Lloyd-Jones or Mrs Lloyd Jones. There is a tradition in some social circles to have the last surname as the husband's. However, the more modern approach is to have them in whatever order they sound best!

If you want to be 100% sure that your new double barrelled surname will be accepted by all institutions you would need to do it via a Deed Poll. Many government institutions will now accept a marriage certificate as evidence of a woman changing her surname to a double barrelled surname without a Deed Poll, but many financial institutions will not.

It is important to note that if both the wife and the husband wish to have the same double barrelled surname, you will both need to apply for a change of surname by Deed Poll! If you want to avoid the cost of two applications, then the best way forward would be for the husband to change his name to your new double barrelled surname, via Deed Poll prior to you marriage. You need to do this well enough in advance of your wedding so as not to affect those important documents such as your passports, travel documentation, driving licence and bank details.

The Deed Poll office suggests you carry this change out at least 2 months prior to getting married. Personally, if you are getting married in the height of the summer, I would suggest you do it even earlier than that!

DO NOT FORGET to notify your Registrar or Minister of this change PRIOR to the big day! Bear in mind that he may be asked for evidence of this new change of surname so it would be a good idea to change that documentation that is used as documentary evidence of identification such as a driving licence or a passport first.

Using your Maiden Name as your Middle Name

If you feel that you want to take your husband's name but you still do not want to lose the link with your family name then you might want to consider the option of using your maiden name as your middle name. If you want to be really romantic, perhaps your groom could take on your surname as his middle name as well! For example if you were know as Miss Elizabeth Sarah Ferguson prior to marrying Mr John James Lord , you could become Mrs Elizabeth Sarah Ferguson Lord and your husband could become Mr John James Ferguson Lord.

Fuse Your Surnames Together

If neither of those options appeal, then you could fuse your two surnames together to make one new one. So using our previous example, if Miss Elizabeth Ferguson were to marry Mr James Lord, she could become Mrs Elizabeth Ferlord or Mrs Elizabeth Lorguson! OK, so it wouldn't work with all surnames! But you get the gist?

For more information on exactly how to go about changing your surname by Deed Poll including advice on when to apply visit the UK Deed Poll Service

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