Basically, this is just something I’ve noticed. My friend’s 70-something year old grandmother is on Facebook. She has her maiden name on there. This is a lady who probably hasn’t used her maiden name for 50 years or so, but she’s using it again on her Facebook profile. Same thing with my other friend’s mom, who recently added her maiden name to her Facebook profile. I also noticed recently married peeps either not changing their Facebook names at all, or keeping their maiden names on their profiles and sticking the new hubby’s name on the end.
The maiden name debockle has long been a soul-searching situation for women, and I feel like it’s gotten more complicated over the years. It’s gone from “what will I do with my business cards?” to “what will I do with my email?” to “what will I do with my LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook accounts?” (And if you’re super nerdy like me, “What will I do with my URL?”) Yikes!
Obviously, the issues to contemplate transcend the importance of social media. “Do I want the same last name as my children?” and “Who am I if I am not a Johnson (insert your maiden name here)?” are thoughts to ponder. Some may say to keep your maiden name for business purposes and use your new name in your personal life. But thanks to social technology, we live in an increasingly networked world in which business and personal relationships are harder to distinguish.
My thought is that women who are either adding or keeping their maiden names on Facebook are doing so because they want old friends who don’t know their new last names to be able to find them. I think the fact of the matter is (even for people who don’t work in marketing and may not give a rip about this so-called personal branding) that your maiden name is sort of like your brand name. Getting involved with social media, whether or not you use it for business, means you have to establish or re-establish your identity to fit your social networking needs.
I think for ladies my age and up, the problem is easier to solve now than it will be for future brides. I’m 22, and even the girls that have been involved with social media since their tween days were probably on Myspace. They probably had really clever usernames like “BSB4Life” and such, so last names aren’t really an issue for us. But for the Jonas-loving tweens of today, they are establishing first name-last name personal brands on Facebook at an early age. 10, 20 years from now when they tie the knot, how will they re-establish their brands on the internet?
Anyone have thoughts?
9 responses so far ↓
Sheema Siddiqi // September 11, 2009 at 4:17 pm |
Great post! I’ve been noticing more and more people adding their maiden names as well- this brings up the issue with FB vanity urls- you can change your URL once, but what if you change your name, get divorced, remarried, etc?
I will admit I did have a BSB4Lyfe-esque username (and I still think BSB are awesome), but now that I am using my professional name, I have thought about what to do when I get married. I think I’ll probably stick with my maiden name for professional use if and when I get married, or do the hypenated thing. For those JoBro fans, maybe we’ll see more people sticking with their maiden or hyphenating them.
Meagan // September 11, 2009 at 4:29 pm |
Totally agreed! I have been thinking of this a lot, since I get engaged. I think that Facebook is the only place I’ll continue to use my maiden name – lucky for me, i’ve built my personal brand without a last name!
fisherjanet // September 11, 2009 at 4:45 pm |
Sheema – BSB ARE awesome haha. I’ve been thinking more and more about the hyphen thing as well…
Meagan – Seriously, the redheadmeag thing was a really choice!! You definitely avoided this issue
Holly // September 11, 2009 at 4:46 pm |
Great post! (Of course I had to laugh…my old aol name was similar to BSB4life! and yes I still listen to them in my car!)
kel kelly // September 11, 2009 at 11:35 pm |
janet, you are a rockstar. nice post. it’s all about the brand. i suggest you change your name to “jan janet” to be more like me. haha! i think peeps need to be who they are at that moment in time. screw the maiden name and screw the code name — whatever peeps are calling you, sing it loud and sing it proud. love the post. you go girl!
fisherjanet // September 14, 2009 at 3:04 pm |
Thanks Kel! Thanks Holly! I appreciate the comments
I have thought about changing the URL…we shall see!
Michelle DeLuties // September 15, 2009 at 4:11 pm |
Great post Janet. I struggled a lot with keeping my maiden name when I was married 8 years ago, but I ended up giving in and just going with my married named both personally and professionally. The only time I use my maiden name now is on FB because it made easier for me to reconnect with old friends in my life.
fisherjanet // September 17, 2009 at 12:47 pm |
Thanks for the comment, Michelle! You’re right, the name change probably is something that is difficult to navigate at the beginning, but in the long-term it’s not so bad.
Cello // January 5, 2010 at 10:38 pm |
Like you pointed out, I have asked a number of girls I know this question and they all responded with your theory that they just want old friends to find them that do not yet know their new last name. It seems harmless enough, but maybe there is some deeper underlining meaning…hmmmm…lol BTW great blog you have here!