Reply To: Keeping my last name when married

I don’t like the hyphenated last name but to keep the maiden name as a middle name is ok. With a second marriage the woman keeping the name she is known by is common. And for a woman to use her maiden name professionally if she is established in a profession prior to marriage seems common. Passing on a last name isn’t important because we have a mesorah of passing on first names of departed ancestors as a way to keep their memory alive. Last names have only been arounf for several hundred years and many Americans have last names that were changed after immigration to this country. There were no Smiths, Robinsons, or Roberts in the shtetl.