I think Catholic tradition is pushing/maintaining the change your name trend in New England. Highest Catholic populations states, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York also over 30%. The Italian and Irish immigration.
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=997
I’m in my mid-50s, married in 1983, and most of my colleagues at work (in Philadelphia) during that time frame changed their names. One used both (no hyphen, same way I did) and the other kept her name.
Marian, I had that same issue with the driver’s license – they replaced my actual middle initial with the first letter of my last name. Think B A DD, now B D D. Haven’t looked at my Social Security card in ages – wonder if it matches up. It was correct after I changed it when we were married.
I hang with a pretty secular crowd. I’m sure that biases my experiences and what I see.
“Correlating a happy marriage to what name to keep seems a bit of a stretch to me.”
No correlation professed as I said it was totally unscientific. More idle speculation and I do think it is not a stretch that such marriages are often less traditionally focused. 
I do find it interesting that not even one couple I personally know who kept their names has gotten divorced, however. The odds are definitely against that.
It is interesting to see the diversity of patterns on our own social and family circles.
Just one more note, the couples** that I do know that kept names are some of our Jewish friends (with the majority of our Jewish friends changing their names)
**((gal who worked with me in the shipyard was not Jewish))
Nope. I’m CT born and bred.
I’ve noticed the same time-related trend that JHS mentioned.
Regarding the speculations of @doschicos , the few women I knew back then who chastised me for not changing my name all got married and or divorced and remarried during the time I knew them, so they had three or more last names. Go figure. 
@Consolation My state is ~60% Catholic. I think that is overpowering other trends for us. But that time trend is in the NYT article so good catch @JHS
Not only is RI very Catholic but with high Portuguese and Italian populations, which can be more traditional, I can imagine a lean toward the more traditional name change there.
@gearmom, born/raised in Mid-Atlantic tho my parents are transplants (one from NE and one from OH). I’m 1/2 Irish and 1/2 Italian, Catholic in my very late 40s and I went to a Catholic university in the NE. I strongly identify with my Italian heritage and my maiden name is a totally uncommon Italian surname. My first name is very Irish. Dh’s surname is a reasonably common Irish name. When I married, I never really considered keeping my maiden name, but I did not want to lose what I considered was an important part of my heritage so I dropped my middle name and kept my maiden name as my middle name and that is on all my official documents (passport, license, SS card). I do miss using my Italian name, but just felt it was easier to have us all with the same name. And sadly, my maiden name has died off with my generation (my brother and uncle have only daughters and the very very few with my maiden name living here in US are unrelated). Most of my “met as an adult” friends don’t realize I’m part Italian as my married name is something akin to “Eileen Rooney” but then they ask where I get my olive skin. I think probably 90% of my friends changed to their hsuband’s name upon marriage.
My kids are not even close to marrying age. I have no idea what any of them plan to do. Funny thing is that my older two kids are very Italian looking and the only ones who have Italian first/middle names. My younger two have Irish names and they are the ones with fair skin and blue eyes. Funny how their names kind of match their heritage even tho it wasn’t planned that way.
FWIW, even my non-Catholic friends of my generation mostly took their husband’s names.
What I have seen among friends is all over the place in terms of what women do with their names on marriage:
But I know only one man who did anything other than “no change” when he got married. One other changed his surname for other reasons (wanted his mother’s surname instead of his father’s surname).
Note the related assumption that the kids will automatically take their father’s surname over their mother’s surname.
How common is it to do otherwise?
… what are the other options? Unless to change to something completely different or do a mash of names (both of which seem to be extremely rare)
Nephew (child of SIL who kept name) got father’s surname with mom’s last name as 2nd middle.
I can only think of a handful who got mom’s name but it certainly happens. Or hyphenate.
@Consolation, I don’t know of one woman who has not changed her name. I am closing in on 60 yo, married first time in the 80s, the same time most of my friends were married. I can’t comment on second marriages because everyone I know is still married to their first spouse but even the younger girls now getting married that I know and/or are related to are changing their names. I am not Catholic or particularly religious (first marriage was a church wedding, second was not) and most of the weddings I’ve gone to were not Catholic-based, just for trend basis.
I know a family where the mom kept her name. First child got dad’s surname. Second child got mom’s surname. Third got dad’s.
@ucbalumnus , I was only referring to my family. My uncle has three daughters and all were given his last name when he and his wife had kids. They did not take their mother’s name. And two are now married and both took their husband’s name. My brother also has two girls, one is his step daughter, the other was given his name not her mother’s. She is not married, and from what I understand, most likely will not have kids.
As for the assumption that kids will take the father’s surname - in my corner of the world, I don’t know any kids who have taken their mother’s name over their father’s name unless there is no father in the picture. For example, dh’s sister had twins via AF as she never married but wanted kids. They have her name, obviously, since she used a sperm donor and has no idea who the father is. Even with the few women I know who kept their maiden name after marriage - all of their kids have their father’s name as a surname. I personally do not know any kids who have hyphenated last names. I do have a SIL who married a man from Portugal. She took his last name “de last name (mother?) e last name (father)” but dropped her maiden name. I have no idea what their son’s last name is - he’s only a week old. I don’t know if he has a combo of both of their names.
I’m from Connecticut and didn’t change my name.
I did not change my last name. My kids both have their father’s last name. My oldest has my last name as his middle name. If not signing legal documents, I will sometimes tack on H’s last name to mine (with repairmen, for example so they know we are connected). My kid’s friends knew
me as the same last name of my kids , and that was fine with me. We have hyphens with one of husband’s siblings (the kids, mom and dad have their original last names). I do wonder what could happen when they marry, especially if they marry someone who also has a hyphenated name .
One problem with keeping my maiden name is whenever we have questions about a bill, service, etc., there’s always that moment when we’re not sure whose last name the account is under in the billing system.
My maiden name was unusual and often mispronounced. Plus it was one syllable and my first name is one syllable so I ended up taking my H’s last name which flows very nicely with my first name and is never mispronounced.
I would have preferred to keep it but was tired of people mixing it up so much.
I know a family where one child has mom’s surname and one has dad’s.
I kept my name. Not much I can add to what has already been said. Interestingly, the one who had the hardest time adapting was my mother. She wasn’t opposed, just always addressed her mail to me as Mrs. H’s name. And she would introduce me to people as Mrs. H’s name.
Ironically she was a strong woman and feminist. In the late 60’s she fought a big department store in NYC, Wanamakers, to get a credit card in her name only. She worked full time and earned a decent pay. She felt she did not need to provide her H’s , my Dad’s, info. She was turned down, not because of her income, but because she would not provide a husband’s financial data. She fought it and eventually won.
Her mom, my g-mom, was a suffragette who marched down 5th Ave in NYC for woman’s right to vote. They lost that year in NY. But woman won nationally a year or two later.