Can I use only one of my two last names for publishing?
You can use any name you like for publishing - even a pseudonym. You are wise to consider the future so that publishing will always be under the same name, simplifying searches and keeping the maintenance of your reputation simple.
In some ways, keeping a birth name as your official &quot;professional name&quot; is the simplest for most people.
And people who are active in more than one field, might want to use different names in those fields, just as novelists often do.