Should women keep their maiden names after marriage?

I am one of the women that elected to keep my maiden name. The main reason was because I was already known in my profession by my last name. So at first I was hyphenated, then I just put a space in between the two. In my opinion, this decision does not diminish my love for my husband. We talked about it and we agreed that this was the best decision. My decision to keep my maiden name was a personal one. It was not connected to any political statement or a slight against my husband.

For the 21st-century woman, is keeping your maiden name after marriage a matter of convenience or is it a political declaration? There are many women who say that taking their husband's name is a symbol of their pledge to enter into a new life with their spouse. However, there are a growing number of career women who say that giving up their maiden name disregards the identity that they have created for themselves professionally.

Each year, approximately 3 million women change their name when they get married. They give up their maiden names and take their husbands' surname. But within the last few years, studies show that a new trend is happening, a growing number of women are opting on keeping their maiden names when they tie the knot.

And although this issue has emerged as a point of conversation in recent years, it is not a new one. As far back as the 19th century, Lucy Stone, (1818-1893) a women's rights pioneer said that, "A wife should no more take her husband's name than he should hers. My name is my identity and must not be lost." Women have come a long way from over a century ago when it was a legal requirement to change their names after marriage.

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