Kathleen F. Kerr

I have always gone by “Katie,” a nickname for Kathleen, which is the middle name on my birth certificate. When I first started publishing, I emphasized my middle name by publishing as “M. Kathleen Kerr.”

When I got married in 2003 I changed my name, but in an unconventional way. Since I never went by my first name, I moved “Kathleen” into the first position. I took my husband’s last name as my middle name. Since 2003 I have published as “Kathleen F. Kerr.”

Assorted facts/observations related to this topic:

• My husband, who never had a middle name, took my last name as his middle name just as I made his last name as my new middle name.


• Extrapolating from my experience, having a marriage certificiate gives you license to change your name any way you want to. You do not have to be a woman, and you do not have to change your name in the traditional way.


• In my father’s side of the family, the male name “Kathel” was used for many generations. In my father’s generation, none of the men wanted to burden their sons with that name. So in my generation a lot of the females are Kathleen, Katherine, etc.

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