Some 70 percent of the respondents in a new study feel [new brides] should take their spouse’s surname - and 50 percent say that it should be a legal requirement for a woman to take her spouse’s last name.
The study, presented Tuesday at the American Sociological Association’s annual meeting, was done by the Center for Survey Research at Indiana University, as reported by USA Today.When the respondents were asked why they felt women should change their name after the wedding, Hamilton says, “They told us that women should lose their own identity when they marry and become a part of the man and his family. This was a reason given by many.”
Other respondents said they felt the marital name change was essential for religious reasons or as a practical matter. “They said the mailman would get confused and that society wouldn’t function as well if women did not change their name...”
I suppose I should stop being startled by the underlying conservatism of the American public. In my own family, in about half of the marriages in my generation (including my own), the bride has retained her maiden name. I knew that wasn't the "norm," but I didn't realize the extent of the countervailing viewpoint.