Name changes & academic publications

[gwendolyn]

I plan to change my last name to my fiance''s last name after we get married next year, but before that I am looking to publish my first piece of academic writing (fingers crossed!). But, do I submit it under my future name (if that''s even allowed)? Or do I submit it under my current name and continue to publish under my maiden name (which seems confusing)? Or, do I wait a year to submit so that this isn''t an issue anymore (which I would rather not do since it can be a lengthy process anyway, so I''ve been told)?

Anyone else in a similar situation to tell me what the best plan is? Thank you!

 

[katamari]

Woohoo, Gwen! Yes--get that thesis out the door! Don''t dare hold on to it. The publication process is absolutely long enough

I am not changing my name, but for my colleagues that have the tend to do one of the following:
Never used their married name professionally, only privately
Publish as First MaidenLast NewLast and then transition into First NewLast
Publish in your anticipated name

If your discipline is anything like mine, (and sorry to say this), there is just no way the article would be in print before you got married. Our review times are 4-6 months, conditional accepts never happen in the first draft (and most times you have at least 2 R&Rs), and even when you get a conditional accept the journal is still on an 8-12 month lead to press.

 

[rhbgirl24]

Submit in the name you have now! I have a few published scientific works that are in my maiden name. Anytime in the future you reference them I guess you would have to state you now use your married name.

I didn''t think about that! lol

 

[SapphireLover]

OMG!!! I am in the EXACT same position!!! I am expected to publish an article in an academic journal this year, and don''t know what to do about my name.

DF doesn''t seem to grasp the concept that people use cascade searches from an authors name. I think its important not to change your name, so all your work is searchable.

I will be changing my name for personal use, but am thinking of keeping my maiden name for work due to this. I don''t even have any attachment to the name (haven''t seen my birth father for 17 years) but want to keep things consistent. I think DF is a bit upset about this and has suggested I publish in my future married name. I am not keen on that as A) I think its bad luck and B) is it fraud as it isn''t actually my name?

Gwendolyn- What subject area are you planning to publish in?

 

[katamari]

One more thing to consider is if you have conference presentations or invited talks under your maiden name. If so, this would make me more strongly suggest you keep your maiden name at least for the sake of publication. More people are going to be familiar with your research than you think, especially if you blew them away during a talk.

 

[gwendolyn]

Thanks, ladies!! I didn't think there'd be so many replies so quickly. Yay!

katamari, aye, it definitely wouldn't be actually getting published before the wedding, but I wasn't sure if it would be ok for me to submit my first (and then subsequent) drafts under a name that wasn't actually mine yet. Since the only thing I have written in under my maiden name is my thesis itself (and that's only available in the Cam Uni school of education library I think, maybe the big library as well? but that would be it), the best idea is probably to submit under my future name, yes? Although, out of curiosity, the colleagues who use their married name privately and not professionally--did they legally change their names? Not sure how that would work.

rhbgirl24, thanks for your input! Do you think it's a good idea for me to use my current name, even though this would be the first real thing I'd have published? There is a part of me that thinks it'd be kind of cool to have to use my maiden name still (my dad would probably love it, hahah

), but am not sure it's really necessary if I haven't yet published?

SapphireLover, I am in the field of inclusive and special needs education. I haven't done much yet, but I have plans on what sort of research I'd like to do in the future. The question you ask about fraud is a good one--part of my questions here are to figure out what's ok to do and what isn't, and what's legal, and how people can go by two names--if there's anything you have to do to make it official?

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 8/3/2009 3:10:15 PM
Author: katamari
One more thing to consider is if you have conference presentations or invited talks under your maiden name. If so, this would make me more strongly suggest you keep your maiden name at least for the sake of publication. More people are going to be familiar with your research than you think, especially if you blew them away during a talk.

Haven''t gotten quite that far yet, but I definitely appreciate your optimism.

Oh, one other thing (in case it might make a difference)--my current last name is long, Polish and extremely rare (ie, everyone in the US with my last name is a direct relation to me). My future last name is quite common and short.

 

[trillionaire]

Every academic that I know publishes under their maiden name. They seem to use it professionally, and they vary as to whether they go by their married last name personally.

I LOVE the idea of a private/intimate married name, and a separate public name. I mean, celebs do it all the time, so I don't really see what the big deal is. As long as you can prove/document your names and name changes, I can't imagine running into issues of fraud or anything of the sort. It has to be common for professional women to do all sorts of variations of names, and as long as you don't have plans to take over someone else's identity or something crazy like that, you should be fine

 

[swimmer]

Hi Gwen,
I published 2 books and about 8 chapters in other peoples' books and more than 15 articles in my maiden name. I doubt that anyone has read almost any of them. They are out there, I list most of them on my cv, but when I changed my name I went with first/maiden/new last name and now publish with all three rather than a middle initial (having initially had a rather common first last combo). Not a single person has indicated any confusion about this (I kept the same email addy as contact throughout). Google Scholar is able to handle it too. Although I don't think it is fraud to publish in your future name as monies are not involved and you aren't trying to deceive anyone it might not be totally kosher...But then again must admit that no one has ever checked my id when accepting my crap, ahem well edited research findings.

Bottom line, are you publishing in one of the most influential journals in your field? Will dozens of researchers be stymied by your name change and their own research hindered? Well, if that is your scenario, then by all means don't change your name in order to maintain consistency and keep the Earth on axis. If however, you are like me, stumbling about in arcane academic circles, no one will notice. You might even get a "congrats" email from the other esoteric academe out there in your field when your new name crops up in another limited circulation journal. If however you are searching for an excuse/reason to keep your maiden name, then by all means use your publication list as evidence for standing your ground. Just don't make your name decision BASED on this issue as it really should not be a biggie. You can see my bias right? But I really think it is true. Again, unless you are a publishing fiend with a host of followers...

-this message typed to you from the stacks, good luck with your journal submission!-

ETA: love Trill's point. Ha, a secret name! Just thought of this, so my DH changed his middle name to my maiden name and now submits with a new middle initial, this once caused a bit of confusion, but only b/c his first/last combo is also not unusual. He does publish in Nature and some other biggie journals (scientific stuff with dozens of authors) so was concerned about the change, but so far it hasn't seemed to impact anything or anyone. (no one actually reads that stuff shhhh don't tell him!) So I guess my point is unchanged, what is the big deal if your name changes? You can still list it on your CV and your contact info will be listed...make your decision based on what you want to do, not what you think the right thing to do might be.

 

[gwendolyn]

Hahah, no, I am definitely one of the smallest fish in the sea, so no worries about people flocking to find my work and not finding it.

The question is mostly because I want to be consistent throughout, and wasn''t sure if I''d be allowed to submit under a name that wasn''t mine yet if I were to choose to publish under my eventual name. And of course, this is all under the assumption that I will even GET published! But yeah, just wanted to see what the norm was and what would be acceptable to do. Since it seems to be common practice to submit under a future name, I am leaning towards doing that.

My legal name will be the same regardless; if I were to keep my maiden name, it would be for professional things only. I''m quite excited about my name change, so this isn''t an excuse to keep my current name, in case that''s how it sounded.

Thanks again for your input, all!

 

[rhbgirl24]

I think they gave excellent advice here. Publish under your maiden name and for all over non-published areas of your life use your married name. You can also hyphenate. I checked, the searches still do work if two last names are separated by a hyphen!

 

[kama_s]

I know I''ve searched for articles before where the author''s new name crops up as well (I think they post as XYZ, X née ABC,X). So that would be another option for you.

Personally, I just published my first first-author paper, and I have 4 second author papers in my maiden name, but I''m not sticking around in academia any longer - so it really doesn''t bother me. I know I was struggling with this decision last year when I was still engaged and was considering the pros and cons of being in academia (industry won, lol).

CONGRATS on getting a paper out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Such a huge achievement!

 

[LilyKat]

If you're sure you want to change your name for professional use, and you're engaged (so sure you're getting married

), and this is your first (or one of your first) publications, I'd go right ahead and use your future name.

I've published before when I was single so obviously in my maiden name, and while it's not really a problem if you're early in your career (so your name isn't widely known), it's just less of a hassle if it's consistent.

ETA: A few of my friends who were engaged at the time of graduation from medical school were allowed to graduate in their "future" names without much problem, so I don't imagine it would be a problem for publications, but you could give your department a call just to check.

 

[kama_s]

Date: 8/3/2009 3:22:37 PM
Author: gwendolyn

katamari, aye, it definitely wouldn''t be actually getting published before the wedding, but I wasn''t sure if it would be ok for me to submit my first (and then subsequent) drafts under a name that wasn''t actually mine yet. Since the only thing I have written in under my maiden name is my thesis itself (and that''s only available in the Cam Uni school of education library I think, maybe the big library as well? but that would be it), the best idea is probably to submit under my future name, yes? Although, out of curiosity, the colleagues who use their married name privately and not professionally--did they legally change their names? Not sure how that would work.

Katamari made an excellent observation! There''s a good chance the article will be published only after your wedding and in that case you can change your name on the article before publication. So you can submit with your maiden now, and perhaps send an e-mail to the editor giving them a heads up on your future name change. Once you tie the knot, shoot them an e-mail and they''ll send you another draft to approve.

 

[Clio]

Gwendolyn, assuming that the process - from submission to actual publication - takes as long for you as it always for me, I would submit under your current name. Then, after you''ve married, you can inform them of your name change. I''ve been able to change things like my institutional affiliation at the last moment before a journal came out, so it should be possible. Maybe things are different in the UK (and certainly disciplinary differences exist), but in my experience it often takes months for the review process, then more months for the editing process and for the article to be slotted into an issue. By the time it''s ready to go to press, you may well be married already!

It is certainly best if all presentations/publications are in the same name, but in my (humanities) field, it''s not unusual to to see that one person has published under two names. We all seem to be able to figure it out, especially when the Firstname Maiden Married convention is used.

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 8/4/2009 12:14:48 PM
Author: Clio
Gwendolyn, assuming that the process - from submission to actual publication - takes as long for you as it always for me, I would submit under your current name. Then, after you've married, you can inform them of your name change. I've been able to change things like my institutional affiliation at the last moment before a journal came out, so it should be possible. Maybe things are different in the UK (and certainly disciplinary differences exist), but in my experience it often takes months for the review process, then more months for the editing process and for the article to be slotted into an issue. By the time it's ready to go to press, you may well be married already!


It is certainly best if all presentations/publications are in the same name, but in my (humanities) field, it's not unusual to to see that one person has published under two names. We all seem to be able to figure it out, especially when the Firstname Maiden Married convention is used.

Yeah, definitely not keeping my maiden name as a middle name--it's long, very Polish, and would look and sound absolutely awful as a middle name.

I just wanted to say thanks again for all your input, everyone. At this point, it's probably 95% decided that I will go with my new name (either just initially submit with it or ask the editors to change it once it's official). For the record, my new name is 66.6% new! (old) First name, (new) Grandmother's maiden name, (new) future hubs' last name.

Danke!

 

[JSM]

This was my excuse for keeping my maiden name - my degrees and scientific publications are already my maiden, so why bother changing?

Really, though, women in all fields change their name all the time, and it wouldn''t have been a big deal to change it. I just plain didn''t want to.

But at least I have an excuse that satisfies the conservative traditional members of our family!

Gwendoyln, I like your idea a lot! I''m sure it won''t be a problem to do a name change later in the process (so many changes usually occur between the first submission and publication anyway).