When I got married, I dropped my maiden name for a variety of reasons, the most trite of which was that it sounded funny as a blended name. It didn’t sound as natural as other hyphenated friends’ names like Chicas-Castillo or Morgan-Cox. It sounded clunky and odd. So, I dropped it.

I’m not famous, by any stretch of the imagination, but I have developed a professional career under my married name. Everyone who has met me in nearly the last decade-and-a-half knows me by that name. When I started my master’s degree in 2006, some friends joked that next thing they knew, I’d start signing my name with my middle initial and maiden name like some pretentious professor, just to make it longer and more exotic. Well, I didn’t … at least, not then.

After my brother died and I obtained custody of my nephew-sons in 2009, I decided to informally reintroduce my maiden name. I took baby steps, like changing my email signature and eventually signing letters with both names. When I started my doctoral studies in 2010, I almost quit doing it because I remembered the teasing conversations about turning into a snooty academic-type.

My driver’s license expired last fall, and when I went to renew it (had to get a new photo this go-round, so I couldn’t renew by mail), I asked the clerk about adding my maiden name to my license. She said that I could only do it if I had another form of ID (SS card or passport) with that name. So, I didn’t fiddle with it.

Well, I had to go to the Social Security office this week for other matters, and I decided to look into it while I was there. The clerk seemed a little confused by my request, but I explained that I wasn’t dropping my name, just adding back in the old one. So, as of this morning, I have officially re-incorporated the use of my maiden name into my legal name. I decided not to hyphenate it, just list it as two names.

I realize it’s just a formality, since I’ve been using both names in written correspondence for quite a while, but it felt like the right thing to do — not only to honor my brother, but also to demonstrate to the boys (though they won’t understand it all for years to come) that they belong here, with me, in our family, and that they are always part of me.