What's In a Name?

Just how important is it for a woman to take her husband's last name upon marriage? In Chapter 9 of The Namesake, Moushumi refuses to take Gogol's last name when they get married, and this really angered me. It didn't make me upset because she refused to follow the tradition of taking her husband's name, but the fact that she seems offended when people call her Mrs. Ganguli. I understand a woman not wanting to take her husband's last name for professional purposes, like Moushumi, because she is an author so legally changing her last name might confuse people. This made me think of my mom, who didn't change her last name when she married my dad because she is a doctor. However, outside of the workplace she is known as Mrs. Cashy to all of my friends and other people in the community. The fact that Moushumi is offended because her relatives in India call her "Mrs. Moushumi Ganguli" really angers me, because taking your husband's last name, even if it's not legally changed, is a symbol for a couple's marriage and commitment to eachother, and she should expect people to make this mistake (227). Overall, I feel it is very important for a woman to take her husband's surname, and the fact that it "has never crossed Moushumi's mind" is absurd because part of being married is compromising and accepting each other (227).