What he doesn't know yet is whether he will encounter the problems that often arise when a man makes the untraditional decision to change his name to his wife's.

While a woman's name change costs $25 or $35 - the price of a certified marriage certificate - a man's name change could cost at least 25 times more and take several weeks. The reason: It confuses state agencies.

In order to change names after marriage, men and women need to present proof of the change to each individual government authority. First in line are Social Security cards, driver's licenses, and passports, said Danielle Tate, the president of a bridal name-change Web site called missnowmrs.com. Once these documents have been updated, the remaining name changes - to the essential change-of-address IRS form 8822, voter registration, and professional licenses as well as bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages and insurance - are simple.

The question is, what constitutes proof? For women, a certified copy of a marriage certificate does the trick. But for men, the process can be more complicated.

Adam Gilden Tsai, 35, a physician at the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders in Philadelphia, had to undergo a legal name change that cost nearly $700 when he took his wife's name.

The other requirements? He had to publish ads in two newspapers, attend a hearing with a judge, and get fingerprinted. Only then did he receive a court document certifying that he had changed his name.

Representatives of the big three - the Social Security Administration, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and the Passport Agency - say the official policies of these agencies are gender-neutral. Each office should accept a marriage certificate as proof of name change for women and men, providing that a newlywed's new name can be derived from the other. (For instance, if Jane Smith and John Doe marry, he could change his name to Smith, she could change her name to Doe, or they could both change their names to Smith-Doe. But they could not change their names to Jones without a legal name change.)

Yet the customer service representatives often give different instructions - sometimes conflicting - for men wanting to change their names.

During a call to the Social Security hotline, Caroline Baker, an employee of 17 years, said a man who took his spouse's name would need proof of a legal name change. A marriage certificate wouldn't do. Her explanation: Maiden names are called maiden for a reason. Only women have them.

Kimberly Harris-McCoy, 28, experienced a similar mix-up at the Philadelphia DMV. She and her husband, Dan, both hyphenated their last names after getting married three years ago. Kimberly said that during their first trip to the DMV, a woman told Dan that he had to go through a legal name change in order to change the name on his license. During a subsequent trip, he asked for a manager. This time, he was allowed to use his marriage certificate.

The confusion, Tate said, may be due to the rarity of the practice. Since 2006, her company, which automatically fills out the necessary forms for newlyweds after they answer a series of questions, has helped more than 28,000 people nationwide change their names, but less than 35 were men. Still, the numbers jumped from the first year - three - to 27 the following year.

Gilden Tsai remains happy that he took his wife's name, although he wishes he didn't have to go through such an ordeal to do it.

"It's not the law requiring men to go through extra steps. The problem is the underlying cultural attitude."