Talk:Penny/@comment-67.168.41.157-20140801015438

" For a while her last name was Johnson while unknowingly married to ex-boyfriend Zack Johnson. "

Is not correct. Penny never took her marriage licence to the bank, work, the DMV, or the Social Security Administration, in order to change her name. She continued to report her taxes under her actual name - not Zack's. Her name remained the mystery it continues to remain.

When married, a woman's name does not change unless she takes action to follow the naming and marriage ritual traditions of the West. The marriage certificate actually gives ( as would a trip to the Courthouse for a name-change ) the opportunity to officially change your name. In fact, a man can take his marrage licence to the local Social Secuity office and change his last name to HIS WIFE's. Now that gay and lesbian marriages are the norm, these traditions become more akin to cult rituals, and less important in legal identity.

In pointed fact, most PROFESSIONAL women, particularly in the Sciences, who may already be published and recognized under their maiden name, thoughtfully choose NOT to take their husband's name. Therefore, it would not have been unusual for Bernadette to keep hers, and it will be somewhat surprising if Amy Farrah Fowler would change hers, should Sheldon ever wise up.

Perhaps, when Leonard and Penny perform their rites, he will change his name, and we will discover hers. It wouldn't bother his mother a bit! NOT ONE LITTLE BIT!