Yes, you can change your name to whatever name you wish. That having been said, when a spouse will not sign the divorce papers and/or is hard to locate, the law provides a remedy. First of all, whenever there is a legal action, any person named in it must be given proper notice. In a case such your, this means that you will have to serve your husband in order to give him the opportunity to answer the complaint (that's something that you'll file). However, when a spouse cannot be found, after all reasonable and diligent attempts to do so have been made, they may be served notice via "publication". What this means is that you can ask the judge to allow you put a notice in a newspaper in the area of your husband's last known location. After that, if he fails to respond, you can proceed with the case and a "divorce by default" can be granted at the court's discretion on the terms that you request. At this point, you should speak directly to a divorce attorney in your area who can best advise you further as to all of this.