Taking a spouse's name on marriage

[Valigarmander]

I ran into an article the other day that talked about women taking their husbands' surnames upon marriage. To take an excerpt from a long article:

The researchers found that more than two-thirds of Americans in the study said that it's best if a woman takes her husband's name upon marriage. The researchers expected that a majority of Americans would feel this way, Powell said, but they were more surprised to find that 50 percent supported a law requiring women to take their husband's name.

It got me wondering, what do all of you think? Would you prefer to take your husband's name (or for your wife to take your name) upon marriage? Or maybe, do you think it should be the other way around? Or do you think you should both retain your names? If you both keep your last names, then what surname would your children receive if you had any? Would it come from mom or dad? Or would it be a combination of both? Do you think that it should be up to each couple to decide for themselves, or do you think everybody should do it the same way?

This isn't something I've thought about a whole lot, but I'm not traditional enough to care whether or not a girl wants my last name. If I ever get married and my wife wants her last name to be Ryan, that's cool. If she wants to keep her last name, that's cool too. I wouldn't mind taking her last name either (as long as it sounds cool enough). As for kids, I don't even know if I want to have any yet, but assuming I do, and the lady and I kept our birth names, I think the children would receive a combination of our surnames rather than just one of ours. My current girlfriend's last name is Sugahara, so if things work out that way between us, I guess we'd have kids with "Ryan-Sugahara" or "Sugahara-Ryan" for a surname. Or maybe something like "Sugan" or "Ryahara". Damn, those names sound cool.

What are your opinions?

[Cravdraa]

I always thought the practice was a little odd in concept.
Nothing wrong with it, but a name is a fairly major part of a person's identity. The idea that the entire female population is expected to change it if they marry is just something that makes me sorta scratch my head.

There's a lot of practical, personal, and symbolic reasons to go either way.

Making a law about it would be just plain stupid though.

In an indirect way, it's an interesting subject for me, since I'm not particularly attatched to my own name, first, middle, or last. (Not that I dislike them.)

[CuccoLady]

My mom kept her last name because she always thought taking the husband's name reflected the old ideals of marriage in which the man more or less owned the woman.

I like my last name and I probably intend to keep it. Unless some dude with a totally rockin' last name comes around.

As for the kids, I never thought about that much, but I like your idea of a combination of the names.

[Bomby]

Whether or not a woman would want to take my last name upon marriage is completely up to her. Hell, if my last name wasn't so awesome I might consider taking hers.

[Jenocide]

Hmm... I don't know. I kind-of want to take my future husbands last name. But my surname is ridiculously hard to spell and pronounce. It's kind of embarrassing going to the doctor's office when they just say G-G-G-G-G- while they're struggling with it.

If I had an awesome surname, I'd probably want to keep it.

I think that this should be something that couples decide individually. I think it'd be wrong to try to force everyone to do it a specific way.

[CaptHayfever]

I've met couples who each kept their own names. I know of men who took their wives' last names (Jack White né Gillis springs to mind). I remember seeing a contestant on a game show whose family name was Dark, & his fiancee's family name was Wolfe, so when they got married, they both hyphenated to become Dark-Wolfe, which may just be the coolest surname ever.

Legally forcing everyone to do it the same way would be stupid, useless, & unjustifiable.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[Sim Kid]

My mom and cousin kept their maiden names simply because they didn't want to go through the paperwork and process of changing their names.

[Crazyswordsman]

My mom kept her maiden name and my parents have been married for 27 years, and I honestly think women should be allowed to do whatever they want. Two of my mom's close friends kept their maiden names, my brother and several children I know have both last names and one of my mom's friends tacked on her husband's last name to her own. All of the marriages lasted, although one of the women is now a widow. I also should tell you that in no other part of the world do women take their husbands' last names. -CSM

[CaptHayfever]

I also should tell you that in no other part of the world do women take their husbands' last names.

You'll have to define "part of the world" a little more clearly here.
Do you mean just the US? Nope, they do it in Canada too.
Just North America? Nope, they do it all through Latin America (though the wife typically just adds the new surname at the end rather than replacing her old one).
Just the western hemisphere? Well, I think the British Isles, Germany, & Russia wouldn't be too happy at their exclusion. [dubya] And don't forget Poland! [/dubya]
Just European-dominated cultures? Say what you will about British colonialism, but India has kept its own culture pretty strong. And don't get me started on Japan...

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[Cosmonautical]

It would be ludicrous to mandate the name swap. Personally, I think it's cool to change your last name on marriage. If SD weren't already keen on mine, I probably would've just agreed to change both our last names to something rad.

[Crazyswordsman]

^^I didn't think they did it in the Spanish speaking world or in Asia at all. -CSM

[CaptHayfever]

While I was fact-checking myself last night, I also discovered that for the past 50 years, Malaysia has been encouraging husbands to take their wives' last names in order to promote stronger commitments & discourage divorce.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[CuccoLady]

^^^ I'd change my name to von-something. Vons indicate awesome.

[CaptHayfever]

^And Vans, or so I've noticed. (Your name is pretty tizight already, though, little Miss Sports Car.)

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[CuccoLady]

It is still severely lacking in vons

Also its similarity to the name of a sports car makes people mispronounce it as that sports car which can be annoying

But really, mostly just the lack of von