[alkhatib]

In the US and other countries it's common for a wife to take her husband's last name.

Changes from "Jane Doe" to "Jane Smith"

[ricardobeat]

I think he's saying the maiden name is easily found. At least in Brazil, the husband's surname is _appended_ at the end, doesn't replace the maiden one: Jane Doe Smith.

[Merad]

Yeah, but often (usually?) the woman's maiden name replaces her middle name. E.g. Jane Elizabeth Doe -> Jane Doe Smith. I'm pretty sure my mom's maiden name is printed on her driver's license, paper checks, etc.

[lsaferite]

I know very few women that have done that TBH.

[Merad]

Maybe you just didn't realize it, because it isn't very common to see someone's full name? It was very much the norm until the 80s-90s, and even today I think the majority of women still go that route. I just spent a couple minutes searching Facebook to sanity check myself, and so far all of the women I'm friends with who are under 30 and married have done it.

[ytjohn]

I wouldn't use Facebook as a guide. My sisters all have done <First> <Maiden> <Last> for facebook, but none of them have legally changed their middle name. They just do it on facebook so that people can find them.

[always_good]

Most if not ~all of those women are doing it so people can find them on Facebook, and people in the States rarely use the middle name field anyways except for legal docs.

[reducesuffering]

In my experience, the women do that so people that knew their name pre-marriage can find them, not because that is their full name.

[cortesoft]

That is not super common in the US.

[sandov]

In South-America and other countries it's common for a wife to keep the name she was assigned at birth for ever.