This is the blog of a Norwegian (Marianne, aka 'M') who moved to Australia in 2007 to be with Roger (aka R) and feels lucky to have escaped a comparatively communistic country with ridiculous weather!

I mentioned in a blog entry a few months ago that I would not change my name if I got married, and I still feel the same way. It's not that I don't like R's name, it's that I like my name; I grew up with and have had it all my life. It's part of me, and I don't see why I should change it. I also don't agree that it should be an automatic thing for the woman to take her husband's name. 

In Norway the female usually keeps her maiden name as her middle name, and takes her husband's last name as her new last name. I don't know why they have started doing this, because according to Wikipedia, Scandinavian women have only been taking their husband's last name since the beginning of the 20th century.

But me not changing my name means there is an issue with my title, which English speaking countries love to use. Whenever you fill out a form here, they ask for your title. I am no longer "Miss", because I am married, but I am not "Mrs Hovde", because R's last name isn't Hovde. So the only title I can use is "Ms", which I don't like. Oh well.