Marilyn’s Surname

Marva Watkins in Chicago, Illinois, writes:

What is your real last name?

Marilyn responds:

It’s “vos Savant,” which was my mother’s maiden name and is my own legal name. (My mother’s maiden name is just as real as my father’s boyhood name.) My maternal grandfather was Giuseppe vos Savant. Coincidentally, he married a woman named Maria Savant, my maternal grandmother. Growing up, I never thought about “Savant” being a word, too. I’m sure that people with the name “Miller” don’t think about it, either!

By the way, my mother changed her surname to my father’s surname when she got married, which was traditional at the time. I use her name, and my brother uses his name.