Keep both last names in PA?

Im not from PA so I cant help. But did you try googling this question or asking colleagues/friends/family?

Can't you just write under your writer name (maiden name)? I actually spoke with my HR department this afternoon. Payroll will have my married name but as far as business cards and email address I'll have my maiden name. I have direct deposit so nobody I work with/clients will be effected by the change.

Same boat! Also a writer. We agreed that I would take his name socially but I'd legally keep my maiden for ease of situations like this. But you could do the same in reverse- legally change to your new name, but professionally use your maiden. A name change should let you keep your maiden name as your middle name and solve your issue though.

I've never heard of states not allowing you to take two unhyphenated last names. I did some quick Googling and all I could find were states that don't allow you to take your maiden name as a middle name. PA used to not allow you to change your middle name, but that changed in 2013.

I have two friends that did two unhyphenated last names and one thing they both have told me is that you have to remember to give both names at hospitals and banks, as you'll probably come up in their system under your maiden name.

Is this a professional licensing issue? I know in some regulated professions you need to use your legal name to practice in that field. This should be something that should be addressed with the appropriate regulatory authority.

I live in PA and my friend wanted to keep her maiden name. You can't add a second middle name in PA, so her name is technically hyphenated. However it doesn't show up that way on the license, it just shows Rose Anne Johnson Smith.

Not sure about PA. You will probably need to contact someone local. However its really common in Hispanic cultures for people to have multiple names... my Hispanic students have 4 names, no hyphens, so I'm not sure why you couldn't. Just be prepared that most people will call you by your husband's last name.

In PA, when you change your name with social security..they will allow it.

If you want it on your drivers license...you have to provide them with your passport where it --on a "federal" level--proves it is your name. Without the passport, they claim "the state of Pennsylvania does not accept your maiden name as your middle name". But as soon as you have that on your passport, you're good.

ETA- I live in PA. That's how I know this.

In PA you can use your Maiden name at any time. But you will need to hyphenate if you want to use both as a "last" name. But you can "add" without a hyphen. You'll need to physically go to a SSA office. Then go from there.

Thanks everyone. It's not a legal professional issue. I'm a published writer under my maiden name and am a college writing professor, so I want my students to continue using my maiden name as it's connected with my publishing history. Therefore, I want the university to still recognize my maiden name as my last name. My initial plan was to keep my name legally/professionally and just use my husband's in social circles, but he's a little hurt by it so I've been reconsidering adding it. I do not want to hyphenate though or change my maiden to a middle name, so it sounds like I might be stuck.

YOU CAN. I did it 1994. First I changed my name with the Social Security administration. I then changed my state id, voter registration, and made sure to complete my taxes consistently with the "new" surname (no hyphen). Know this: some will never accept it and continually you will have to address it, BUT, it is your name and it belongs to you.