WHAT’S IN A NAME? YOU DECIDE

NEW JERSEY

erry Sullivan Smith “always felt a stronger connection to the name Kerry than to Allison,” her legal first name. Her parents chose the middle name to honor their ancestors’ roots to County Kerry in Ireland. “When I’ve told people that my legal first name is actually Allison, they’re always a little surprised and, more often than When she got married, Kerry legally dropped Allison, and took her maiden name of Sullivan as her new middle name. The final step: taking on her husband Dennis’s last name, Smith. “In regard to changing my last name, my view of feminism is about having the agency to make the choice,” Kerry says. “I see taking Dennis’s last name as the opportunity for us to build our new family together. It’s the name the family we create together will identify with. To me, it’s a reflection of the fact that we love each other and want to build our lives together as a new family.”