Should I change my surname, or shouldn't I?

It's something I hadn't really given a great deal of thought to. I'd been far too busy on vitally important matters. Like sorting the wedding dress, the shoes... and a few minor details like the reception, the booze and the entertainment.

But people have been asking me. And with only 32 sleeps to go, I realise it's probably something I should turn my mind to.

There is no law to say a woman has to change her name on marriage, simply a law to say she can if she wants to.

So it is entirely my decision.

Lots of women either don't see the point, or get all stroppy about it being old-fashioned. Branding, chattels and all that.

Me? I just don't think I can face the faff of another new name.

I changed it 25 years ago, when only the most fervent women's libbers didn't. I was getting married and, anyway, having been born a Stevenson, switching to Davison didn't really seem like a big deal.

But I don't think I want to go to the bother of changing it all over again.

Having two names in your lifetime is ok. But three?

All those forms to fill in. All that confusion... the ink had barely dried on a recently- married friend's marriage certificate when it got lost by the DVLA. And the stress of worrying if the passport would get back in time for the honeymoon.

What do you think? Post your comment below.

And then there's the fact that, in this job, your name matters more than most.

There it is, in the paper, day in, day out.

If I kept my name for work, then took Bloke's for personal use, I'd be forever trying to remember who I was every time I had to make a doctor's appointment.

Apart from convenience, the other reason for wanting to stick to the name I have been known by for the greater part of my life is that it is also my son's. I don't feel entirely comfortable with the idea of having one that is different to his.

OK, it actually belongs to his father, something I haven't done for the last 16 years. But after all this time, that bit is totally irrelevant.

There is another option, I know; the hyphenated double-barrelled one. It makes sense. I could keep boy's name and adopt Bloke's. But I just don't know if I could live with something that sounds so posey – like you're posh when you're not.

So many unwed parents bestow double barrels on their kids, there are now millions of school registers that read like a guide to the British aristocracy.

Only little Master Walker-Campbell bears the first name Brett. And Miss Foster-Thorpe's moniker is Madonna. (Come to think of it, there are probably little girls called Moniker by parents who have grown up using text-spell phonetics).

Bloke is, I think, completely fine about whatever I decide. Although I suspect there's a tiny bit of his male pride that would like me to bear the same name as him. I think he thinks it would be neater, too.
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