Some women may ask themselves once they get married, “Do I change my surname, keep my surname or make it double barrel; that is the question.”
When it comes to surname changing when you get married, it can become a big deal for many women. Some women argue that they should change their name to show that they’re committed, others believe that changing their surname is a union of family, and some believe that legally, everything would be simpler.
According to a study by the Human Sciences Research Council in South Africa, published in 2018, approximately 67% of women in the Gauteng Province take their husband’s surname after marriage.
In some African cultures you take your husband’s surname and you also get a new first name. The in-laws rename you, which represents your new life as a wife and most times will call you by that new name and not the actual one you were born with. Of course, people now can choose not to take their husband’s surname, but traditionally they are acknowledged by the husband’s surname and their new name.
In contrast to this, in some European countries, women do not usually take their husband’s surname. For example in Spain the woman keeps her name, and in Austria, getting married does not automatically mean that you will take your husband’s surname.
There has been a growing trend, in English speaking countries towards women keeping their birth surnames after marriage, or adopting a hyphenated surname that incorporates both their own and their husband’s surnames. In some cases, there have been men who have changed their surname to their wife’s last name – Zoe Saldana’s husband would be an example of that, Marco Perego Saldana.
The practice of women changing their surnames when they get married has a long history, dating back to at least the 9th century in Europe. In medieval times, women were often identified by their husband’s surname and were considered to be part of their husband’s family after marriage.
The reasons for this practice varied over time and across cultures. In some cases, it was seen as a way of indicating that the woman was now under the protection and authority of her husband. In other cases, it was a way of establishing the legal and financial ties between husband and wife.
Oyama Comba, who would like to get married in future, shared that she would choose to double-barrel her surname with her husband’s surname. “Double barrell for me. I feel like it signifies and acknowledges the union. I’ll still get to acknowledge both families as a part of me. Changing to your husband’s kinda feels like abandoning your old fam, but at the same keeping your own feels like not embracing the new family.”
Marche Van Der Lingen, who is about to get married, shared, “Seeing that I’m getting married this year I’d prefer to change it to his surname. I wouldn’t want to doube barrell it as my surname is already so long. Also, to keep [his] surname going is like a kind of legacy,.”
Whether you decide to change your surname, keep it, or double barrel it, is all up to you. It is a personal decision, and you shouldn’t be judged for your choice.
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Tell us: Would you change your surname, keep it or double barrel it? Why? And if you are a man, would you ever take your wife’s surname? Why/why not?
Read more here on advice for newlyweds?