Is keeping your maiden name uncommon in the UK

That would have been me!  
I was divorced, and tired of carrying around my ex-husband's name.  I didn't want to go back to my maiden/birth name, as it was awful-sounding and difficult to spell, and my boyfriend and I have agreed that, as much as we want to stay together forever, we don't want to marry, so I was never going to have *his* name.  So I just picked my own new surname, and I'm very happy with it.  Currently in the process of having all my bills and accounts and ID changed over, but apart from BLOODY PAYPAL(!!!) it's been a smooth and easy transition.

Heheheh I wasn't thinking of you (I think it was from a few years ago, someone combined their last names or made a new last name they both liked or something like that) but you have an excellent reason to change your last name and I like your style!!  

I took my husband's name mostly because I didn't like my maiden name.  I did keep it as a middle name, though, so now I am Historyenne Maidenname Hubbyname.  No one seemed to think that was odd.

On a related note, my BIL (DH's brother) and his partner aren't married, and when they had kids, my MIL was very concerned that the baby wouldn't have our surname.  We had a job to convince her that the baby usually takes the father's surname even if the parents aren't married.  She was far more worried about that than about what I called myself .

"Historyenne Maidenname Hubbyname" has a lovely ring to it!

(Very cute way of providing an example!!! Made me smile.)

Heheheh I wasn't thinking of you (I think it was from a few years ago, someone combined their last names or made a new last name they both liked or something like that) but you have an excellent reason to change your last name and I like your style!!  

Oops sorry!  (it's still fresh in my mind, so i just assumed... )

i did not take my husbands name........no one ever really notices.......they more notice my name and how its spelled

I didn't change mine and most of my British girl friends that have married have not changed either.  I have found it really common in the UK and no one cares.  On the other hand, I have been asked about it a lot in the US. 

My experience seems to be a bit different from the other comments and I have to wonder if this is because I was in London in the UK and the deep South in the US.

This has been exactly my experience, too, however I'm in London, but my family are from Pennsylvania.

I don't know many UK woman at all who didn't change their names, but I can't think of one who would care if someone else did or not. It's really not a big deal.

I must admit, one reason I swapped is I went from a "S" that was difficult to pronounce and spell to a "B" that was simple! Ahhhh, convenience over romance, that's me!

I've never really felt inclined to change my name if I ever get married, not for any particular reason other than it feels like a lot of work for something that's just not that necessary. That said, I like your thinking on this. Mine is an Irish last name that gets butchered to high heaven, so should I ever marry someone with an easier last name that I like, I might actually consider making the change! 

Also, sort of related: When I was with my ex, we had talked about possibly getting married at some point in the future. I had told him I didn't really like wearing jewelry, so the ring might not get worn all the time, and also that I probably wouldn't change my last name (aside from my own reasons, he also happened to have one hell of a crazy Scottish last name).

He didn't care about the ring thing at all, totally fine with it, but he was rather miffed about me not wanting to change my name. I found that surprising! You'd think it would be the other way around!

He didn't care about the ring thing at all, totally fine with it, but he was rather miffed about me not wanting to change my name. I found that surprising! You'd think it would be the other way around!

My DH is the same. And I too was really surprised, but he got over it soon enough.

I suggested my husband and I combine our names into a modified new one  (and just never tell his father who wouldn't understand) as there was a reasonable overlap of letters and would make an existing word/name but he'd had a bad experience with the name in question and didn't want to. I took his name because it's an easier name.

Except apparently it isn't as no one here can spell or pronounce it correctly (it's four letters! How hard can this be?) and my Irish maiden name, which no one in the US could ever spell or pronounce, was accepted with perfect ease. But I finished my mother's goal of marrying to the front of the alphabet so that's something.

My maiden last name is a very Irish last name, but it’s also a very popular first name. To this day I’m teased for having two first names. So, when I announced I was marrying DH people were like “oh! You can take his name and have a REAL last name.” However, DH’s last name is also a very popular first name, so when they realized this they’d go “haha you’d still have two first names.” Grow up. It’s really not that funny. 

Anyway, I didn't change my name because I was really conflicted about the whole thing and I resented going through the hassle of changing my name when I wasn't really sure I wanted to.

I'm from the Northeast US and all the women I know who have been married in the last decade have hyphenated their last name. I don't know anyone who has completely dropped their maiden name and taken their husband's last name. Meanwhile the women I know here have taken their husband's name and dropped their maiden name.

I've never really felt inclined to change my name if I ever get married, not for any particular reason other than it feels like a lot of work for something that's just not that necessary.

That's very true in the US which is one reason why I didn't take my first husband's surname.  But here in the UK you don't have to do anything, just start using the new name.  (I guess it might be a bit of a pain if you already have bank accounts, etc. in the UK under your maiden name.)

I'm from the Northeast US and all the women I know who have been married in the last decade have hyphenated their last name.

 
If you did this, then you could have three first names

 
If you did this, then you could have three first names

(Sorry, PP. I can relate to the name explanation my whole life! I go by my middle name and had to put up with "yeah, but what's your REAL name??" Uh... it IS my real name!  )

I'm from the Northeast US and all the women I know who have been married in the last decade have hyphenated their last name. I don't know anyone who has completely dropped their maiden name and taken their husband's last name. Meanwhile the women I know here have taken their husband's name and dropped their maiden name.

I wanted to drop my first name and just be MiddleName MaidenName MarriedName. But the state of GA (and maybe the US?) doesn't allow that. I could drop my middle name, though!  So now I have all 4 names (just added on new last name, no hypen.) I'm having trouble figuring out how to sign my name now! Banks aren't allowing me to drop the first name either (though some have at least changed it to an initial and write out my whole middle name now.) So I've ended up being FirstInitial MiddleName MarriedName. Which I didn't intend to drop my maiden name. 

Glad to hear I can "start over" when I get to the UK (dropping my first name unofficially).

30-odd years ago when we married, I fully intended to keep my maiden name. I was used to it and liked it better than his (somewhat unusual) surname. However, a lot of people gave us cheques as wedding presents made out to "Mr. and Mrs. Hisname". We already had a joint bank account in the UK but the bank was reluctant to deposit these cheques. Something about "how do we know it isn't for him and his mother"   So -- just to avoid the hassle -- I ended up having to take his name but used my own maiden name as a middle name, unhyphenated. I never had a middle name so I guess that was alright.