Name News

Lucky are those whose name changes are more than spreadsheet transactions. Said Adams of his: “It feels like I’m a brand-new person.”

Who cares? The answer is, you do, and you matter. Your name is yours. It affects you, and you get to have it reflect you in whatever way you want.

I now find myself wishing that I had given my children my last name as well. A double surname would have been unwieldy, but it would have been European instead of just British — and it would have signaled a connection to me.

We’re curious about how women around the world decide whether to keep or change their name after marriage. We may publish a selection of the responses.

The tradition of women keeping their names is rooted in patriarchal Confucian values, whereby a married woman would remain identified by her father’s lineage.

Women trying to overturn a century-old law that requires married couples to use one surname, almost always the husband’s, are getting no help from judges.

If I address her by her real name, it sounds stilted and she thinks I am telling her off. Even referring to her by it when talking to a third person makes me uncomfortable, but then so does calling her Fluffy: it’s a lose-lose situation.

Do more women keep or change their maiden names when they marry? You may be surprised by the latest statistics.

The Times is dropping “Rodham” from its references to Hillary Clinton, reflecting how the Democratic candidate for president refers to herself these days.

Upon marriage Japan’s current legislation forces a couple to decide on a single family name. While the law does allow for either partner’s name to be chosen, in more than 95% of the cases, the wife changes to her new husband’s last name. However, this tradition may soon see a change.

Marriage and inheriting the man’s last name has always been based on tradition. But would your husband change name for you?

My grandfather’s family was all but wiped out in the Holocaust and I was the last person in my line to hold my family’s name.

Modern couples have more choices than they used to—but this measure of progress is practically nascent and not one of these choices is perfect.

One justice said the law did not impose an undue burden on women in part because they could continue using their maiden names in their professional lives.

"On the 16th December, Japan’s Supreme Court announced its verdict on the constitutionality of the law banning spouses from carrying separate last names: The court ruled that the ban is indeed constitutional."

"I changed it to start a new clan with my wife, not to escape my heritage."