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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47247
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47247
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Presuming maiden is Jacobs, married is Williams:

# Mary Williams née Jacobs

# Mary Williams (Jacobs)

# Mary Jacobs Williams

It isn't like space is limited on the cover or copyright pages; I'd use the maiden name in parentheses, or the appellation née (meaning 'originally', but used almost exclusively to indicate a married woman's maiden name).

I know at least two woman that kept their maiden name as their middle name; and still sign with that initial; For one of them the middle name _could_ pass as a first name ("Royce" as in "Rolls Royce" which is actually two last names!), but for the other woman it is clearly a last name (like "Stephenson") and she doesn't care.

I think the world is getting past issues with weird sounding names; we get actors and celebrities from all over the world, nobody cares. I work in a university (America) with students from all over the world, and many foreign students no longer adopt Americanized names, nor should they: We can learn to say their names just fine. Well, apparently I mangle the Asian languages, but I make the effort!

Name yourself what you want. As B.L.E. says, I wouldn't give up the brand, but it just needs to remain recognizable, adding another name to it will not dilute it.

For an emphasis, you can add a parenthetical "author of" beneath your name in smaller type, or use an asterisk and a footnote at the bottom of the cover: e.g. (author of **_Forty Ways to Fake Your Death_** )

As we have seen with sub-titles, there is plenty of room for text on book covers, and spines, and don't forget that your fans _don't mind reading._

Original score: 3