What's in a name?
I'm seriously considering dropping my last name and legally becoming Claudia Stuart (currently my middle name, and a family name on my mother's side).
The biggest reason is that I don't want to go by Claudia Weinstock professionally. The two fields I want to work in, theatre and academia, rely a lot on name recognition, so if I start going by Claudia Weinstock, I have to stay Claudia Weinstock, even after I get married, and I'm going to want to take my husband's name.
I could go by Claudia Stuart without legally changing it, but why? If everyone knows me as Claudia Stuart, it might as well say Claudia Stuart on my license. Besides, I think it's a little silly and pretentious to use a stage name when I'm not onstage. After I marry, I can take my husband's name, move Stuart back to the middle, and continue to go by Claudia Stuart professionally.
Also, I've always hated Weinstock. It sounds ugly and whiny. I like the flow of Claudia Stuart much better.
Finally, and this isn't much of a concern here in New York, but if I go somewhere else with a super Jewy last name, I might run into expectations or prejudices. Claudia Stuart is much more ambiguous.
It was my father's idea to give me a middle name that could serve as a last name if I ever want to drop Weinstock, so he wouldn't be insulted. He hates his name, too. All my relatives are dead, indifferent, or senile. With the exception of one, and I don't have to tell him.
I think I'm actually going to do this. I just wanted people's thoughts. If you think it's completely stupid and unnecessary and vain, or if you think that's what other people will think when they find out I changed it, tell me.
I'm not going to adopt a middle name (that way, like I said, I can just move Stuart back to the middle when I get married), but if I decide I want a "power initial" for some reason, I can write Claudia W. Stuart.
So, yeah. Thoughts?
The biggest reason is that I don't want to go by Claudia Weinstock professionally. The two fields I want to work in, theatre and academia, rely a lot on name recognition, so if I start going by Claudia Weinstock, I have to stay Claudia Weinstock, even after I get married, and I'm going to want to take my husband's name.
I could go by Claudia Stuart without legally changing it, but why? If everyone knows me as Claudia Stuart, it might as well say Claudia Stuart on my license. Besides, I think it's a little silly and pretentious to use a stage name when I'm not onstage. After I marry, I can take my husband's name, move Stuart back to the middle, and continue to go by Claudia Stuart professionally.
Also, I've always hated Weinstock. It sounds ugly and whiny. I like the flow of Claudia Stuart much better.
Finally, and this isn't much of a concern here in New York, but if I go somewhere else with a super Jewy last name, I might run into expectations or prejudices. Claudia Stuart is much more ambiguous.
It was my father's idea to give me a middle name that could serve as a last name if I ever want to drop Weinstock, so he wouldn't be insulted. He hates his name, too. All my relatives are dead, indifferent, or senile. With the exception of one, and I don't have to tell him.
I think I'm actually going to do this. I just wanted people's thoughts. If you think it's completely stupid and unnecessary and vain, or if you think that's what other people will think when they find out I changed it, tell me.
I'm not going to adopt a middle name (that way, like I said, I can just move Stuart back to the middle when I get married), but if I decide I want a "power initial" for some reason, I can write Claudia W. Stuart.
So, yeah. Thoughts?