Why Do Women Change Their Names When They Marry? Do I Have To?

Question

Why Do Women Change Their Names When They Marry? Do I Have To?

4 Answers

Answer Question

Answer 1

Many women change their names to that of their husband because they either think that they have to or because they want to.
An increasing number of women are keeping their own surnames as their is no legal obligation at all in Britain for any woman to change her name on marriage.
Some people think that they should have children registered in the fathers name but this again is an old fashioned tradition as there is no reason at all why children should not take their mothers surname. In Scotland and Wales and Ireland girls often kept their own names after marriage or gave their children both mother and father's surnames.
Some couples use both surnames as a 'double - barrelled' name.
If anyone wishes to incorporate both surnames to make a new surname they can have this made official by deed-poll.
Many professional women retain their own names.

Answer 2

Anonymous answered

No, son, you don't have to if you don't want to.

Answer 3

I guess it's an ancient tradition. It's a choice. Most women take their husbands names but some women choose to keep their maiden last names (or in other words they choose to keep their last name they were born with instead of switching to their husbands' last name)

Answer 4

It was originally done because women were considered property. It has been maintained because many women want the same last name as their children who in our society take the father's last name. Some women take it. Some don't because they like to keep their identity, or they have established names careers in their maiden names. And some hyphenate the two names together. I considered hyphenating, but at the time in my state they could not fit both names on my license. And since I was marrying someone in the army and would be considered a "dependent" it made things easier to take his name.

Someone asked me If I felt I would lose at least a portion of my identity by dropping my last name. My answer was no. Very few people who know me use my last name. Most everyone who knows me calls me Pami, so what difference does it make what my last name is?