In the past, use the surname husband's was a symbol of social status. Today, however, many women do not adopt this tradition in order to reaffirm their feminine individuality. The number of women who change their surnames after marriage has dropped by more than 24% over the past 20 years, according to a survey released in early July. Check out more information about the reduced use of husband's surname by the women!
Read more: What is the origin of the most popular surnames in Brazil?
see more
Employee prohibits children from sleeping when they arrive at daycare
8 signs that show that anxiety was present in your…
A tradition that is in decline
In 2002, 59.2% of women chose to have their husband's name registered. However, since then, notary offices have had a significant drop in this type of service and, in 2010, the percentage reached 52.5%. Currently, this is equivalent to 45% of marriages, a percentage still considered high.
We know that in practice, changing the last name is synonymous with a lot of bureaucracy. Historically, it was a testament to female obedience. That's because it's not just a sign of ownership, since the husband's name can show that the woman can't manage her own life.
We inherited this from Roman law, not just status, putting women in a position of incapacity. Historian Mary Del Priore explained that she was named after her husband because she was considered as a child.
Change in legislation
The 1988 Constitution gave equal rights to men and women, and finally the 2002 Civil Code allowed men to also adopt female surnames. As a result, the top choice today (47% of couples) is to keep their respective last names, an increase of 31% since 2002.
That year, only 35.7% of couples opted for this change. Preliminary numbers for this year suggest that rates are continuing to rise. In the first five months of 2022, nearly 50% of couples chose this approach.
Will more women change their names in the future?
How the tradition will prevail in the future is a hot debate among researchers. Few academic studies predict this, but despite slow progress, both women and men are increasingly open to these alternatives.
A 2016 UK YouGov survey of over 1,500 people revealed that 59% of women still want to use their last name throughout their marriage, and 61% of men still want them to do it. Even though these numbers are high, they are around 30% lower than the percentage of Britons who actually made the switch.
