The OurWeddingDay Blog

Adorable married couple blog A Cup of Joe posted these images of a signet wedding ring, and a question about married names:

"Wouldn't a signet ring make a romantic wedding ring? If you take your husband's last name, it would show off your lovely new initials!

"Actually, I'm curious: Will you (or did you) take your husband's last name? I kept my name, and only a handful of my friends have changed theirs. What will you do? Do you like the sound of your name with his last name?" [via A Cup of Joe]

Read more: Your Married Name, Grooms Taking Their Brides' Names and Hyphenating Your Last Names

Remember when Heidi Klum took Seal's surname... 4 years after they married?  Well the fashionable couple may have been jump-starting a trend, because now Portia de Rossi is taking Ellen DeGeneres' name... over two years since they wed! [via TMZ]

Maybe it's a model thing: Portia was a model before she became an actress, turning in hilarious performances in Scream 2 and "Arrested Development," and of course Heidi Klum is Heidi freakin' Klum!

Name-changing has been in the news a lot lately, from those who think brides should be forced by law to take their husband's name, to grooms taking their brides' names, to both keeping their own names or hyphenating.  It's a lot to consider.

For more on changing your name, from timing to paperwork to "rules," click here.

Many brides (and some grooms) change their names after marriage. What’s become more common in the past decade is to hyphenate your name. The reasons for this are varied: One of the most common reasons women take on their husbands’ names in the first place is for the sake of the children. Should you hyphenate, you can still keep your maiden name, yet know your children will share the same name.

Continue reading this article here, including good reasons to hyphenate, variations and legal requirements.

Once you’ve decided to change your maiden name (which, of course, not every married woman does), most of the paperwork can be done immediately after your wedding. There’s no deadline (some wait years!), but you’ll need to make your new name legal ASAP, for all your important documents in the coming years. Honeymoons and passports are the big “if,” as many couples like to have their married names on travel documentation. If you don’t try and change your passport name before the wedding, remember to purchase all of your tickets under your maiden name. (However, since we’re no longer living in the Dark Ages, don’t worry about raised eyebrows over different last names.)

To legally change your name, obtain copies of your marriage license (in itself, it does not mean your new name is legal), and get a new Social Security card. You may be able to make the changes online, or you may have to make a trip to their offices. There are some states that require a Petition for Change of Name, so check with your State Supreme Court to find out about any requirements unique to your state... Continue reading here.

We're pretty surprised with the results of this poll, in which half of female respondents say that  women should be mandated by the government to take their husband's name.

The study, presented by the American Sociological Association from Indiana University and the University of Utah, used this question to get the fairly small sample of 815 respondents to open up about various social issues

70% of those polled felt "either somewhat or strongly, that it's beneficial for women to take her husband's last name when they marry."  A researcher called the enthusiasm for government-mandated name-change "interesting."

Will you be changing your name?  Do you think that brides should have to change their name?