In the 1970s, when women got married many of them chose not to take their spouse’s last name. This had long been a tradition for many cultures. That the wife’s maiden name or birth name would be no longer used. Women would of course adopt their husband’s name. The American suffragist and abolitionist Lucy Stone (1818-1893) made it a national issue that women keep their own surname as part of her efforts for women’s rights in the United States.

For me, it was a feminist thing to do. My name re...