What’s in a Name? Another Reason to Surf

I’m not exactly sure how I stand on the whole maiden-name-versus-married-name thing. I’m still single, but when I do wed, taking a different last name may not be part of the deal. I kinda like my four O’s, and besides, how many last names go with Booth?

But most American women do the old surname switcheroo. The U.S. Bureau of the Census estimates that 86 million out of 100 million adult women have changed their names at least once. Since it’s hard to keep up with friends and classmates who have made the name change, there’s a new Web site to help.

MarriedNames.com is a free service at https://www.marriednames.com that maintains a database of women who volunteer their married-name changes. Information includes their current and former names, addresses, sorority membership, siblings’ names, schools attended and former employers.

To locate a lost female friend or acquaintance, users can fill out a search request. If the database has a match, the current name and contact information of the person you seek will be e-mailed to you, provided the person you seek has authorized disclosure. If not, you can submit an e-mail message for forwarding to your lost friend, and she can contact you if she wishes.

Now all they need is a married men database. Then I can check to see if the guys I knew in college are still single.

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In addition to the responsibilities of a production company, an acting career, a TV show and a role in launching the online network Oxygen, Oprah Winfrey has teamed with Hearst Corp. to create her own magazine, called O.

Hearst, which publishes Cosmopolitan, Redbook and dozens of other magazines, and Harpo Productions, Winfrey’s production company, announced that O will debut April 17. The magazine will emphasize spirituality and self-improvement. It will also cover beauty and fashion.

“What I like about O is that it is simple and direct, and it is what a lot of my friends call me,” Winfrey said.

O will publish bimonthly for its first two issues, then is slated to go monthly starting in September.

My only question: When does that woman sleep?

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A recent survey of more than 1,000 Americans found 60% prefer receiving e-mail to regular mail, and 34% prefer using e-mail over the telephone, even for personal communications.

To me, the best thing about e-mail is that it’s got a built-in screening mechanism. You don’t have to open an e-mail from that annoying friend right away, and you can find out what she says before you decide whether or not you want to respond. For example, if her e-mail is an invitation to her “Star Wars” movie marathon Saturday night, you can simply reply Monday and say, “Oh, I’m so sorry I missed it, but I didn’t get your message until this morning.” Heh-heh.

But enough about my dysfunctional friendships. The survey, conducted by American Greetings, also found that people don’t mind mixing business with pleasure in the office in-box, so to speak. Employers may have the right to monitor employee e-mail, but 73% of people use their business accounts to receive personal messages anyway.

On that note, I gotta go. I’m expecting an urgent e-mail from . . . a business contact.

Booth Moore can be reached at booth.moore@latimes.com.