How important is name on the Social Security card?

Question

Lets say my wife's last name is Gonzales but the ss card shows Mary Ana Gonzales-Garcia. Garcia is her mother's last name. The dash and Garcia shouldn't be there. She Has been using Gonzales in the past. Does this means she has to use Gonzales-Garcia from now on and for everything. Would it be a big deal if she uses just Gonzales as last name in further documents without changing the name on the SS card. or would there be a conflict because Gonzalez and Gonzales-Garcia are 2 different names.
In South America, we have 4 names: First name, middle name, father's last name and mother's last name. i know most of the time INS would put your four names on the green card. Lets say her name is Mary Ana Gonzales Garcia. In the card the name shown is Mary Ana Gonzales-Garcia. First I thought that is not a big deal then we went to the SS office and they put the name just like the resident card.

Answer 1

What ever name shows up on on a Social Security card needs to be used with ALL legal documents. If her name is incorrect, she needs to go down to the Social Security office to get her name situation straightened out. Better to have this taken care of now, instead of having to run around to get everything done at once to clear up legal matters due to misinformation.

I have kept my maiden name and added on my married name in conjunction with my maiden name. I've had several issues because I forgot to add my second last name or other related events.

Answer 2

I would say legally her name is gonzales-garcia and she should use it. If she wants just Gonzales she should go to the ss office and see if they can change it. She may at this point have to legally change her name through the court

Answer 3

50% important with the # being the other 50%

Answer 4

it's very important