I just flew back from Kauai on Wednesday evening. I have Real ID and was almost prevented from flying home because my name on my driver's license does not match my name on my plane ticket.
I have never had a problem before in all of the years I've been married. It finally took a stranger in line behind us to ask the TSA agent, "So how did she get to here if she shouldn't have been allowed to fly with that ID? Did she swim from the mainland?" He said this to the supervisor who was not letting me past security.
Here's the long story:
I forget what it's called but women taking husband's name has prove the name changes. There have been cases where paper proof has been lost due to fire/flood 50 years ago.
So it's not easy peasy for everyone.
I didn't lose my original papers, I had them in my hand and was denied 3 times.
We have to have:
ID and lawful presence (birth certificate, US passport or other documents showing ID and legal US presence)
Name changes (marriage license, etc)
SS Number, and finally,
State residency (two documents with your name, current address, and a current date, such as lease, utility bills, and mortgage statement.)
When I got married, I hyphenated my last name and DH's last name. I did this because I am the last person in my family with the last name. I also go by my middle name and after I was married and changed my name on my driver's license, they could not fit my entire name on the license, so they dropped my first name and just put the initial. My driver's license has my first initial, middle name, and hyphenated last name.
This name change caused me to now have my full name on my SS card, my passport, my United Airlines frequent flyer account but nothing else.
In my area only one name can be on any utility bills so we had to change the name on the water bill to my name so I could have the mortgage and a utility bill in my name. This is important later in the saga.
The first time I went to renew my license and get the Real ID, in I brought in all of the required items, including my current driver's license. I was denied because the name on my driver's license did not match the name on my birth certificate. I handed them my wedding license and was denied. I had to make an appointment with a supervisor and bring back every legal document with my name. Denial #1 mor
It took two weeks before I could get in for that appointment. I brought in the same IDs as well as my mortgage statement and two bills to prove residency. My IDs were okayed by the supervisor, but the mortgage statement was denied because it only had my middle name with my last name, not my first name or first initial. Denial #2
We were now required to do a quick deed to change for our mortgage paperwork to match my current driver's license.
The third time, with the supervisor again, I now had my current IDs, name changes (wedding license), SS number, new mortgage paperwork, and one other bill with my name, this would be our water bill. I was denied yet again because the water bill did not have the hyphen on my last name. Denial #3.
The last time I went in was with a different supervisor. She asked why I had been denied three times and I explained. She wasn't happy about how this was playing out for me or for at least 2 or 3 other women every week. 3 -4 women every week does not sound like a lot, but at one DMV location combined with others in the state that was a lot of women every in my state that was experiencing the same issues in some form or another.
I am now more seriously than ever before, considering changing my name. If someone had told me I could have dropped my first name that I have never used on my wedding license, making my middle name and newly married last name my legal name, I would have done this in a heartbeat!
Anyway, I went through the process to get another birth certificate and paid the fees. However, the state of Alabama apparently can't find my birth certificate either! 
