Welcome to the blog of Rev. Tomkin Coleman,
Minnesota wedding minister and ceremony designer
A soon-to-be bride writes in:
Good Afternoon, Rev. Coleman.
I’m hoping you may be able to answer a few questions for me…or point me in the right direction!
My fiancé and I are getting married this August and we have been discussing the ‘name change’ issue. Let’s say I’m changing my name go Jane A. Smith Ctvrtlik (names have all been changed for this blog post!) There will be no hyphen…just as it is written to the left. My question is basically this: Can I then legally use both or either last name? For instance:
* Would I have to change my passport if it already states Jane A. Smith?
* Can I use ‘Smith’ at work and ‘Ctvrtlik’ personally?
* Can I sign legal documents using either last name? Or both?
* If I have an airline ticket in ‘Smith’ would it be valid? How about if it is just ‘Ctvrtlik’ on the ticket?
Any help or information would be great. I’m having a hard time trying to get this answered.
Thank you.
“Jane A. Smith”…soon marrying Mr. Ctyrtlik



Good afternoon, Jane,
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!
Great questions you’ve got there. Now, I’m not a lawyer, but here is my understanding, in my years of experience:
Basically, Minnesota is a “common name” state - your name is whatever name you use. Really. The only work you ever have to go through is to change your documents. It’s the documents that have to be changed…your name is whatever you use…”Jane Ctvrtlik” at home, “Jane Smith” at work, “The J-ster” to your friends…(that last one was facetious).
So, on your wedding day, your name changes to Jane A(fullmiddlename) Smith Ctvrtlik. And this is what you put down on your marriage license application, and it’s what it will say on your marriage license. You’ll then need to eventually change your other documents (driver’s license, passport, etc.), and once you get your new documents, then any plane tickets you buy should be in that name (”Jane A(fullmiddlename) Smith Ctvrtlik”).
But that’s just for those documents. For anything else, whatever name you’re using, is your name. So at work, go ahead and be Jane Smith. If you sign something, go ahead and use Jane Smith. Think of it like using your middle name for things…on super-legal stuff, any person would use their full name (including middle name), but in the vast majority of normal-usage stuff, they don’t use their middle name, or even their initial.
Does that make sense?
If you have any other questions, just let me know!
Warmly,
Rev. Tomkin Coleman
p.s. Again, I’m a minister, not a lawyer, so don’t take this as legal advice, but this is my understanding.

Home page - Rev. Tomkin Coleman, Minnesota Wedding Minister and Ceremony Officiant