Amal Alamuddin changes name to Amal Clooney: How do we feel about that?

AMAL Alamuddin is the human rights lawyer who showed that substance will win over style, brains over beauty, gold over glitter when she married George Clooney. But how do we feel about her latest move?

Lawyer Amal Alamuddin arrives at a central hotel in Athens on Monday, Oct. 13, 2014. Lawyers Geoffrey Robertson and Amal Alamuddin arrived Monday on a four-day visit to meet government officials, including Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, and advise on Greece's quest to have the Parthenon Marbles returned to Athens. Alamuddin's husband, actor George Clooney, campaigned for the Marbles' return when promoting his film The Monuments Men. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

IF you married George Clooney, would you change your surname?

Newlywed Amal Alamuddin has chosen to change her name professionally to Amal Clooney.

The move has made international headlines that a career woman like Amal would change her name.

After watching the Hollywood star date a parade of actors and models, it seemed increasingly unlikely anyone could get debonair, dashing George Clooney down the aisle again (he was married from 1989 - 1993).

Even women as beautiful as Elisabetta Canalis and Stacey Keibler couldn’t keep the attention of the Sexiest Man Alive and World’s Most Eligible Bachelor.

So it is not surprising Amal Alamuddin, the woman who has managed to get Clooney to put a ring on it – and in quick-smart time – is a figure of fascination.

Amal was a London-based British-Lebanese human rights lawyer at the peak of her profession when she met her now husband.

Newlywed lawyer Amal Clooney is back at work.

Her CV includes acting as an adviser to United Nations special envoy Kofi Annan and representing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in his fight against extradition.

That George Clooney would choose such an accomplished woman to be his wife says a lot about Clooney – that he is comfortable enough with himself not to be intimidated by having a wife who is probably smarter than he is.

But more importantly, his choice of bride told women everywhere that substance will always win out over style, brains over beauty, gold over glitter — even for the world’s most eligible man.

Aged 36 at the time she met her husband, Amal gave hope to single women everywhere that career and romance are not mutually exclusive, that real men are not intimidated by a highly successful woman.

Now that the glamorous Venice nuptials are over, Amal has demonstrated her feminist credentials by opting not to live large as a movie star wife, but to return to work.

But by changing her name she has some people scratching their heads.

So is taking your husband’s surname an act of love and a symbol of unity — or a retrograde step?

Do you think women should take their husband’s surname? Share your thoughts below.

George and Amal Clooney. It does have a nice ring to it.

Originally published as Amal Alamuddin changes name to Amal Clooney: How do we feel about that?