Sara I. Jones vs. Sara RustI took my husband's last name. It wasn't a given, we had a discussion about it. Sara I. Jones, was my identity for 30 years. I always used the I because Sara Jones may just be the most common female name in the world, although I haven't checked. Also I is an unusual initial, so it made me stand out at bit. I like my husband's last name, Rust, but the sound of Sara Rust had too many "ra" sounds for me, initially. But Hillary kind of felt like if I was going to be so traditional as to get married in the first place I should take his name out right, dropping the Jones altogether. I am fickle with tradition. I like it when it suits me, but am ready to toss it aside when it doesn't. We let it marinate for a while and a few months before the wedding I could tell that this was something that was important to Hillary and so Sara Rust won fair and square over my contention with aesthetics.
I like my new name. It's still short and sweet, but Rust is much less common than Jones, although I do have to spell it or else people think I'm saying Russ or Rusk. Plus I like sharing a name with my husband, being married is fun. It's really the Mrs. that is slightly off putting. I'll take Ms. any day.
But then I was thinking about my writing career and I decided that aesthetics are important in a name. Hillary agreed. Having a name that's catchy and memorable is key and if it comes in triplicate, even better! So what would it be - S. I. Rust, S. J. Rust, S.I.J. Rust? Meh. I think I'll leave the initials out. In the end I ended up with the best of both worlds - Sara Rust for my private life and Sara Jones Rust for my public.
1 comment:
I had the same issues. I mean, I AM a Women's and Gender Studies major right?!! For me, it came down to wanting all of us (kids included) to have the same name. It's fun to get a "new" identity too. I agaree with you Sar, Marriage is fun!! xo
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