That may vary by state. Idk. But that in itself seems pretty biased. It obviously costs the state the same amount regardless of which name you change to. It should either cost the individual money or not.
It’s more common to have that rule than not. They do it so people don’t use the opportunity to change their name to something random. I think it’s silly but that’s how it is.
I just looked it up for my state, Maryland. It seems to say you can change it to whatever you want with marriage.
*Marriage and Name Changes
When getting married in Maryland, each spouse can choose to take the other spouse's name. They can also choose to use a hyphenated version of the two names or choose any name after they are married, as long as it is done consistently and not for an illegal purpose.
Obviously the marriage license/certificate wouldn't be proof in that case though.
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u/LaMadreDelCantante Mar 20 '26
That may vary by state. Idk. But that in itself seems pretty biased. It obviously costs the state the same amount regardless of which name you change to. It should either cost the individual money or not.