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"  As I plan my wedding/prepare for marriage, I&amp;#039;m realizing that there are a lot of weird, outdated rituals associated with getting hitched. Like the single lady bouquet toss (so not happening). And the whole husband carrying-you-across-the-house-threshold thing (uh, we&amp;#039;ve been living in sin for years).  But one of the more serious ones is the issue of changing your last name, which most of us don&amp;#039;t actually find old-fashioned, as it turns out: A recent poll by YouGov showed that a full 61 percent of respondents\u2014which included women and men\u2014said women should take their husbands&amp;#039; last names, while less then half said a man should be &amp;quot;allowed&amp;quot; to take his wife&amp;#039;s instead (and 34 percent said men should not be allowed to do so).  This survey was only of 1,000 people, but the respondents&amp;#039; sentiments seem to match those of another study of 19,000 women done by TheKnot in 2011, which found that only eight percent of just-married women decided not to change their last names. That number was way down from the 90s, when 23 percent of women reported retaining their maiden names. This should-I-or-shouldn&amp;#039;t-I name change debate is nothing new. But why is the decision to make the change surging among women today? Do we covet those custom Mrs.-monogrammed robes and honeymoon bikinis that seem to be a staple now for brides? Is the renewal of retro housewifery making us more traditional? On a practical level, do we simply want our names to be the same as our future children&amp;#039;s?  Surely, all of these reasons play a role to varying degrees depending on the woman. However, Harvard University economics prof Claudia Goldin, who released a study in 2004 showing that fewer women opted to use their maiden names after marriage, has a different theory. She thinks that the rise in name changing actually has to do with the social strides women have made\u2014basically, while retaining your given name was a way to make a statement for equality in the 70s, 80s, and 90s (when name-keeping peaked), it&amp;#039;s less important today. While we still have a ways to go, women are more independent than ever and we have more opportunities for success in education and the workplace than women of previous generations.  Therefore, Goldin says, name-changing has taken on new meaning: It&amp;#039;s now a symbol of commitment and unity, rather than dependency or even patriarchy. &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s an inner urge to bond \u2014 and [there are] crazy glues that bond people together,&amp;quot; Goldin says. &amp;quot;Sharing a name is one of them.&amp;quot;  As for me, I kind of have the best of both worlds because of my career: When I get married next summer, I will change over to my husband&amp;#039;s last name both legally and personally\u2014yep, I&amp;#039;ve already got my &amp;quot;married&amp;quot; Gmail account reserved!\u2014however I will keep my maiden name as my &amp;quot;writing name,&amp;quot; since I&amp;#039;ve already established myself professionally as Burton. (Plus, it doesn&amp;#039;t hurt that I kinda won the married name lottery\u2014my guy&amp;#039;s last name is &amp;quot;St. Clair.&amp;quot;)  While I&amp;#039;m lucky enough to have it both ways, I think every woman has to do what feels right for her. My best friend who got married last summer kept her name, while my BFF who&amp;#039;s getting hitched in August is changing hers to her new husband&amp;#039;s. They are just as committed to\u2014and in love with\u2014their guys.  But we gotta ask you: What&amp;#039;s your stance on the name-changing issue?  Want more from Natasha? Follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook. Photo: Getty Images "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/advice/a12484/changing-last-name/?src=global_footer>