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Influences why Amal Alamuddin changed her last name to Clooney

STAFF REPORTS
Published on Tuesday, October 21, 2014

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Photographer Julie McCombs was on the set in Greer when George Clooney was filming

Julie McCombs

Photographer Julie McCombs was on the set in Greer when George Clooney was filming "The Leatherheads".

 



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George Clooney drew crowds of female admirers while walking from different sets in downtown Greer.
 

Julie McCombs

George Clooney drew crowds of female admirers while walking from different sets in downtown Greer.

 



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George Clooney greeting admirers on Poinsett Street.
 

Julie McCombs

George Clooney greeting admirers on Poinsett Street.

 

George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin nearly three weeks ago and Amal announced that she is changing her name to Amal Clooney. 

While Amal opted to take Clooney as her last name, her age (36) and professional identity as an international lawyer are factors that would make one think that she would have kept her maiden name in some way (perhaps as a middle name).

While Amal is a high profile woman in the public eye, all newlywed women as well as well as more same sex partners face the concept of name change after marriage.  What influences their decisions about their names is interesting. 

Danielle Tate, a name change expert and the CEO of MissNowMrs.com, provides five key factors that influence name change decisions after marriage:

1. The Age of the Bride. Statistically, the older a woman is when she marries, the more likely she is to keep her maiden name in some way.  Property accrued, businesses created and more life spent as Miss XYZ tend to make older women hyphenate last names, take two last names, or take their maiden name as a middle name.

2. The Bride’s Profession.  Women with careers that depend on name recognition, such as lawyers, doctors and real estate agents are also more likely to keep the name that makes them money.  Again, they may take two last names, hyphenate, or take their maiden names as middle names.

3. The Educational Level of the Bride. The more degrees held by a woman before she weds, the more likely she is to keep her maiden name as part of her name. Typically this trend is attributed to the time/money spent earning the degrees, the pride in her degrees or simply the dread of trying to change her name on all of them.

4.  Presence of Male Siblings. Having one or more brothers in her family is a factor that typically skews a woman toward taking her spouse’s last name.  As she has male family members to carry on her family name, she is less likely to feel the need to keep her maiden name after marriage.

5. A Family Plan. Women who intend to have children after marriage are more likely to take their spouse’s name in some way.  Sharing the same name with their offspring will alleviate school pickup and international travel headaches.

Outside these factors, are the romantics who truly wish to share a name with their spouse and see it as the final step in becoming a married couple.  For them, the factors above may mean absolutely nothing. 

Perhaps Mrs. Amal Clooney is one of the romantics.

 

 

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