Are you a changer or a keeper?

Sept. 20, 2010 - PRLog -- That's what researchers call the newly married once they figure out what to do — if anything — about their names. With Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem sneakily tying the knot in August, the question remains what Penelope's choice will be.

Many brides stress about what to do when it comes to changing their name after marriage.  Do you hyphenate? Then what happens to your kids if they decide to hyphenate? Will your grandchildren have 8 last names?

There are loads of options, from making up brand-new names and hybrids (Bruz) to hyphenations and add-ons like fellow thespians (Penelope Cruz Bardem). Research suggests more women than you might think — 77 to 95 per cent — legally change their names when they marry, including those who take the time to make a switch but incorporate their maiden names informally to preserve their identities on the job.

Michelle Farren-Handford who provides name-change assistance at http://www.imamrs.com said the decision today for many first-time brides is all about the value of a woman's digital footprint, along with her educational and professional oomph. We're not all Cruzes, but we still care about the name game.

"With most women establishing a career before marriage (the average new bride is about 27 years old), it makes sense to want to protect the personal brand they have worked 14-hour days to create," said Farren-Handford, (who is also known as Mrs Pretorius in her private life).

Did you know? Current behaviour indicates that women are leaning more towards tradition when it comes to changing their name – 82% of North American women are changing their name within the first 2 years of marriage (13% of which start the process before they even say ‘I do’). (I’m a mrs north american study 2009)

I’m a mrs wants to know what the South African woman is choosing to do. Are you changing your surname to your husband’s? Are you hyphenating? Are you keeping your maiden name? Is your husband changing HIS name?

As I’m a mrs heads up to our first year anniversary, we are celebrating by hosting the first ever name changing survey for women in South Africa.

Tell us at what you are doing at  : http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/imamrs

The survey is short and should only take you 10 minutes PLUS we are giving away I’m a mrs name changing vouchers as well as Edyn Collection Jewellery vouchers (http://www.edyncollection.com) as an added incentive to know what the modern South African woman is doing.

Learn the results on our Facebook Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/imamrs.

For more information on the statistics above, or to learn more about i’m a mrs. contact michelle@imamrs.com

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About i'm a mrs - an online name changing service for brides which assists in making the name change process less tedious with an extensive database of name changing procedures for over 1000 companies, government departments and organisations. Coupled with a simple interface, most of the work involved in your name change has been done for you!