A Rose By Any Other Name...

What's in a name anyways? Sounds cliche doesn't it? But it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately, as I enter my last few months as a single woman.

I have decided to take on my husband's last name. I decided that a long time ago, but as the day draws closer it is starting to seem a little sureal, a little scary.

For the past 27 years I have had the last name Poole, but in a few short months I will take on the name Blackstock. A name which I will carry for the rest of my life (which is hopefully longer than another 27 years). While my married name seems strange and foreign now, I will have that name a lot longer than my present name.

In a way it feels like I am changing my identity. On paper I will no longer be Siobhan Poole, but be Siobhan Blackstock. However, I will always be the same person, I will always be a Poole, I will just be a Blackstock too.

My bestfriend is also getting married this year, in fact, she is getting married in 2 weeks. She hasn't decided what she is going to do with her last name - her situation is opposite of mine. She will be going from an extremely original name, to a more common last name. Whereas I am going from a more common name to an uncommon last name. Through our many conversation we uncovered the fact that we have googled ourselves and our married names.

Try it: there are a few "Siobhan Pooles" that show up, including a women who owns a Riding Club in Britain. Google "Siobhan Blackstock" and what turns up - nothing. Yes, as soon as those metacrawlers pick up my married name, I will be the first in the land of Google.

This is the opposite for my best friend. Currently she is the one and only on Google, but there are a few others out there with her married name.

So are we making our decisions based on being the one and onlies on a Google search? Hardly, but it is just one of the many things you unearth as you discover your married name.

The strangest thing I have found are people's reactions to my married name. Almost everyone has told me what a strong, powerful name Blackstock is... it is a strange experience, it feels very enpowering.

But it isn't the power of the name, or its place in the world of Google that will make me change my name - it is just something I want to do. It just feels right.