I have no idea how I'd feel if I changed my last name. My full name has such a great ring; I couldn't imagine wanting to change it to something else. But if I was in love and didn't want to go to the hyphenated side of town, I might do it to have the same last name as my future partner and children. It's so much easier to function in society if everyone in your family has the same name. That's why women don't always return to their maiden name when they get divorced. They usually want to have the name last name as their kids, and after so many years, the name is no longer just their husbands.
One young fiancée of a divorced dad didn't understand why his ex-wife wanted to keep her married name and insisted she change it back to her maiden name….the nerve.