Hillary Rodham Clinton drops Rodham

WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has dropped her maiden name from her presidential campaign material.

The Albany (N.Y.) Times-Union reported that Clinton, D-N.Y., uses the name "Rodham Clinton" in her U.S. Senate paperwork, but in material for her bid to become the Democratic presidential nominee, she is called simply "Hillary Clinton."

When queried about the name difference, Clinton laughed, said "I haven't, I haven't," and dashed off, the Times-Union reported.

Asked whether there was some strategy behind the different names, Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson told the newspaper, "That's a fair question, but there's no plan behind it."

A Pennsylvania State University sociologist who studies married women's name choices said that Clinton's campaign name puts her in the mainstream.

"To most people, family means everyone having the same last name," said Laurie Scheuble, the Times-Union reported. "She's doing the right thing politically to appeal to the most voters. She's conforming to the social norm."

Clinton used the last name Rodham until her husband, Bill Clinton, lost a gubernatorial race in Arkansas in which his opponent made an issue out of her independence and repeatedly mentioned that his wife was known was "Mrs. Frank White," the Times-Union reported.