After saying “I do,” altering a reputation after marriage has typically been seen as the subsequent step on the checklist to solidify the union of newlyweds as a newly merged household. Amongst straight {couples}, the custom is for the bride to drop her final title and tackle the household surname of her husband after their wedding. Nevertheless, developments are altering, and plenty of {couples} are delaying the method, hyphenating final names, or forgoing a authorized title change altogether.
Whereas it isn’t a requirement of marriage, changing your last name does have some perks—and downsides. Whereas turning into a household underneath one moniker can create cohesion for {couples}, the method of fixing your title is a little bit of a nightmare, prompting some {couples} to place off the authorized change simply to keep away from paperwork. It additionally might be difficult for individuals who are recognized professionally by their final names to swap to a brand new surname. In 2023, a Pew Research study confirmed that 80% of ladies in the US in opposite-sex marriages modified their title as soon as they tied the knot. Nevertheless, there are indicators that quantity might change with the subsequent era as 11% extra girls underneath 50 saved their final names than their older counterparts and solely 33% of single girls had been positive they might take their future partner’s surname.
Forward, we dive additional into how {couples} are deciding on a reputation after marriage and why an increasing number of girls are selecting to maintain their surnames intact.
The Historical past of Altering Names After Marriage
A girl altering her title after marriage is a patriarchal custom that largely dates again to medieval England, the place girls had been seen as property handed from a father to a husband. Since a girl can be leaving one household to hitch one other by means of marriage, she would undertake the brand new household title that she belonged to. This custom was held over the centuries and handed on to different cultures. In additional egalitarian societies right this moment, the follow holds extra so for custom’s sake. Whereas a couple of international locations, together with the US, don’t require a reputation change after marriage, others like Japan legally dictate it. Conversely, international locations like Italy, Spain, Greece, Belgium, and Korea have maintained legal guidelines that say {that a} lady’s surname can’t change legally as soon as married.
The pattern for girls in the US to maintain their maiden title has grown alongside the rise of the feminist motion. The title “Ms.” got here into the English lexicon within the ’60s as girls wished a extra grownup prefix to hitch their maiden names and plenty of extra girls saved their unique surnames for skilled causes. Lately, there was a rising pattern for {couples} to hyphenate their final names. On a smaller scale, some males will take their spouse’s title and different {couples} will create a brand new household title as soon as married (actress Zoe Saldaña’s husband notably has taken hers).
Why Some Nonetheless Select to Change Their Identify
Altering your title after a wedding remains to be the most typical follow for {couples} in the US. Many want to do it for the reason that shared title not solely serves as a logo of becoming a member of your loved ones collectively but additionally permits any future youngsters to be referred to by the identical final title as each dad and mom. Reaching out to my community of married pals revealed that there was an emotional influence of a reputation change that influenced their choice to go forward with it. Floral designer Ahna Han shares, “I did it as a result of I’m biracial and I felt the change helped me determine.” One other shared that they didn’t have an excellent relationship with their father and most popular to separate themselves from his household title. One particular person even admitted she hated the sound of her maiden title and felt like her husband’s was a more sensible choice.
