It’s been a while since I last wrote in this space, and there have been a few big changes since then: I got a new job, got an old job and got married in between.

One thing hasn’t changed, though — my last name.

I’d always known that I would keep my name when I got married. Once things got serious with my now-husband I informed him of my plan, and fortunately he was on board.

We both recognized the convenience of keeping my name. I’ve heard horror stories about newly married women slogging through paperwork for a year or more, and that was one burden I didn’t want to deal with.

More importantly, though, my name is a part of my identity. That sounds corny, but it’s true.

My full name, including my Japanese middle name, identifies me as hapa — a blend of Asian and Caucasian who’s 100 percent local.

My name also identifies me as a journalist — the third generation of news professionals in Hawaii and beyond.

So I had several good reasons to remain a Downes instead of becoming Mrs. L. Still, that doesn’t mean it’s been easy for others to understand, or for me to explain.

I’m still trying to think of a quick and easy way to respond to people who are surprised when they find out I’m not Mrs. L.

I joke that there’s nothing wrong with my husband’s name; I just like mine better.

Another reason I give is that I like the element of surprise. A number of people, my husband included, have said they were confused when they first met me — the name they heard or read didn’t mesh with the face that greeted them.

Later on, though, I think: Why do I even have to explain my decision? What’s the big deal with me choosing to stick with my own name?

I tried to look up the history behind women taking their husband’s surnames, and several sources pointed to an English custom that began around the 15th century with a jurist’s statement that marriage made a man and woman “a single person.” The tradition carried over to America and stuck, though in the late 19th century, women finally began to push back and keep their names.

I get the concept of becoming a single unit, but I think a couple can accomplish that without the woman feeling obligated to change her name.

To that end, it seems that more couples nowadays are going with the “keep your own name” route. Some men are challenging the norm, too: The husband of actress Zoe Saldana, for example, took her name and is now Marco Perego Saldana.

I’m fine with explaining why I’m still Ms. D and not Mrs. L, but I wish I didn’t have to. My husband and I are definitely a unit now, but that doesn’t mean I still can’t be myself.

“She Speaks” is a weekly column by the women writers of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Reach Celia Downes at cdownes@staradvertiser.com.