She’s Discussing How Arduous It Really Is To Change Your Last Name After Tying The Knot, Calling The Process A Serious “Time Investment”
Taking your husband’s last name after getting married has become a rather controversial decision for women. It used to be the norm, but these days, more women are speaking out about wanting to keep their maiden names for career reasons, personal beliefs, or simply because legally changing your last name is a major hassle.
While taking your husband’s last name after marriage is exciting and romantic for many women, many aren’t nearly as prepared for the time and effort it takes to legally change their last name and ensure it’s updated on all important legal documents and accounts.
One TikTok user went viral after venting to her followers how frustrated she was with trying to change her last name after getting married to her husband.
Delanie Kristek (@chiknnuggiesinmytummy) is a content creator who married her husband during her beautiful wedding in late April 2023. However, she was still stressing about legally changing her last name when September rolled around, which was when she recorded her TikTok video.
In her viral video, Delanie describes the process of changing your last name to your husband’s as a time investment. When she made her video, which was around five months after her wedding, Delanie was in the beginning stages of getting her name changed, meaning she had only gotten her name changed on her social security number and is in the process of changing the name on her driver’s license.
Delanie was given a “NewlyNamed” box, a popular gift for new brides, which is a personalized kit that provides all the forms and instructions you need to change your last name after marriage on important documents.
“Shout out to NewlyNamed because they already tell you exactly how to do it,” says Delanie in her video.
“But even with the exact instructions, this is just incredibly time-consuming. Everything’s [done] on the government website, which we already know is trash.”
Delanie was instructed to use the Department of Public Service (DPS) website, where she needed to make an appointment at her local DPS office to change her license name. There were no openings at the offices near her until January 2024. She had a big trip planned for December 2023, so she had to book an appointment far away from her.
vickyrandom – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
“At that point, I’ve only changed my social and driver’s license,” says Delanie.
“I still gotta change my insurance cards, I gotta change my bank accounts, [and] I gotta change my passport.”
Delanie then tells her viewers she is a small business owner, which means she’ll have to change her business documents and all her insurance and medical information.
“There’s so many places where my name appears, and now I’m gonna have to change it,” says Delanie.
“You could just, like, not change your name [and] I know it’s not forced upon me, but I want to. I want to change my name. But holy cow, the process!”
While many women in the comments section of Delanie’s video agreed with her, stating that they never even bothered changing their last name after getting married, it’s still a very popular custom.
For instance, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center last year found that after asking 2,437 American adults who were married, 79% of women in opposite-gender marriages took their spouse’s last name.
So, while it may be a hassle, many women are still choosing to change their last name to their husbands.
If you’re a married woman, did you change your last name? If so, did you have difficulty doing it?
@chiknnuggiesinmytummy Dont even get me started on our digital footprint and all the places our names are online. #changingyourname #namechange #namechanged #newlastname #lastnamechange #newlymarried #newlywed
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