Our names are the core of our identity, yet, according to statistics, 80% of women in the US willingly take on their spouse’s name when they get married; without much hesitation or thought about how it may impact their professional brand.  

Twenty-five years ago, I was one of them when I moved from Germany to the United States and got married. Although my divorce dates back nearly eight years, I have only recently reclaimed my maiden name. You might be asking why did I wait so long? The answer is that I was paralyzed by the fear of losing my professional brand. 

After all, my career here in the US was established under my married name, and my worldwide network knew me as Angela Saulino.  This included thousands of people.  In addition, that name had a nice ring to it with a total of seven vowels, easily pronounceable in most languages, which was helpful in the global roles I held, or at least that is what I was telling myself. 

So, I stuck with my married name until the time came when I could no longer identify with it. I felt resentment and anger whenever I introduced myself, checked into a hotel, or needed to spell out my last name. That was a lot of wasted negative energy that I directed at myself.  With the help of a professional coach, I started to realize that hanging on to a name that I could no longer identify with came at a high cost – my emotional wellbeing. My coach also questioned my limiting belief that changing my name would negatively impact my professional brand.  

Finally, I concluded that it was time to act.  Since I have dual citizenship and it has been a global pandemic, it has been quite an endeavor that has caused me enormous stress, time, and money working between two government bodies in the U.S. and Germany. Those who have followed my name-change journey know of the many setbacks I have had and the emotional roller coaster I have been on.  

At the beginning of this year, I created a vision board. On it, I claimed my name and committed to following through with the process.  I realized that my personal identity or positive emotions connected to my maiden name far outweighed any perceived consequences of a compromised professional brand.  

If you are considering giving up your name upon getting married, I encourage you to think twice about what you are gaining vs. what you are potentially losing with this change.  Do you want your future accomplishments, certificates, and professional reputation tied to someone else’s name?  

I AM ANGELA MEYBURG.  If you have known me professionally as Angela Saulino and enjoyed working with me, I guarantee you that you will LOVE working with Angela Meyburg, for she is her authentic self. Fun, competent and, free!