Team Newman is coming up on three years of marriage, so for Her Nashville‘s  “I Do” issue I explore my thought process for taking my husband’s name and finding a way to keep my own. Spoiler Alert: It had nothing to do with feminism and everything to do with Google. Shocker!

Here’s a snippet:

Third in line after ‘How did he propose’ and ‘Have you set a date’ often comes the nail biter: ‘Will you take his name?’

For many women it’s a no-brainer. Of course (well, maybe!) you’ll take his name. You’re marrying him, aren’t you? Still for others (like me), the answer calls for a strategy.

There are about as many ways to take Hubs’ name as there are hashbrown toppings at Waffle House: take it, don’t take it, hyphenate it, add it, take it but don’t use it, use it but don’t take it, ask him to take your name or just make up an entirely new name altogether.

When Dave and I married three years ago, I simply tacked his last name, Newman, onto mine, Maddux. I’m now Margie Maddux Newman. It’s not hyphenated, although my bank likes linking them that way, and that’s fine.

My struggle on whether or not to take Newman as my own was not a feminine power or cultural statement, nor was it an appeal to family legacy. It was because I was afraid of not being found if someone looked for me…

… My strategy was this: instead of dropping the maiden name altogether, I used it to lay a virtual trail of breadcrumbs to the newly married me. When I shake hands with a stranger, I say, ‘I’m Margie Newman,’ but if you search for ‘Margie Newman,’ you’ll find all the versions of me … a complete “me” collection. READ MORE

The February issue of Her Nashville is my favorite one yet! You can view it online, but if you live in or around Nashvegas I’d suggest you seek out a hard copy  because it’s just beautiful!

Ladies, what about you? Did you have name-taking strategy? If you took his name, are you glad? If not, do you wish you had?

Gentlemen,  how do you feel about your future wife taking on your name?