When we marry, Why do we have to take our husband's name?

Question

Who started this ? How did it happen and what year?

Answer 1

I don't know when it started but it symbolizes become part of your husband. You are no longer you. You belong to him. BTW, not all women take their husbands name anymore.

Answer 2

First of all..WHY is this SOO insulting to women? The idea of marriage was NEVER about the last name...but as the man is the patriarch of the family...THE IDEA OF MARRIAGE IS TO BE ONE...and therefore..to MAKE this marriage ONE intimately, emotionally and physically..then both having the last name is symbolic of that union. Yes a rose by any other name is equally as sweet...but I think, for the most part, women take pride in taking on her husbands last name.

Answer 3

Good question! I also would like to know who started this.

A woman is not less of a wife if she retains her birth name. If a man can keep his father's name throughout his life, she can keep her father's name throughout her life--married as well as single. There is no need for any woman to go from "Miss" to "Mrs." When a woman marries, she becomes her husband's wife/life partner, not his property. Being someone's property sounds too much like slavery. Any children born to their union would bear the father's name. That's their birthright. She is not her husband's child.

Answer 4

It is the traditions of man to attempt to track heritage and meaning of life for survival sake. You have to admit, it did keep half of the survival in tact. Perhaps in the future both names will be there or perhaps new last names will be adapted with connections to the old. It costs money to make those changes but modern computing devices is making that easier to do and modern thinking coming away from actual necessity to work so hard that traditions have to stay in place forever is changing too.

Answer 5

It's tradition, it has to do with the fact that you became your husband's property. I don't know about dates though.

In Islam women don't take their husband's names (unless they particularly want to.) We don't become our husband's property therefore we retain our name.

In Hispanic cultures women don't generally change their name either--they have two last names; their paternal last name and then their maternal last name sometimes with 'y' in between. For example: Yecenia Jimenez y Martinez. For social occasions they will still generally go by their husbands last name like Mrs. Hernandez. I also know French women keep their father's last name but socially go by their husband's last name.

Answer 6

It's tradition. I didn't take my husband's last name when we got married. I don't know who started this.

Answer 7

it started since the beginning of time. you don't have to take your husbands name if he agrees, you can hyphen it, you know like susie jones marries john smith your name would be
susie jones-smith
if you think about it when you get married how can you be mrs. anything if you do not take his last name, you are a miss or now adays ms (which I hate) it does not make since to say I'm mrs john jones or mrs susie jones
when you get married just drop your middle name like in the olden days ans use your last name as your middle name.

Answer 8

It's tradition, but in all honesty, if my ***** was so ******* stubborn she wouldn't take my name, i'd leave her *** out the door.

I personally think it had to do with the whole making a sacrifice thing.

Answer 9

You don't have to take your husbands name. You can keep your surname or he can take yours.

Answer 10

You don't have to you can keep your own name if you want.