Why Do Women Take Their Husband's Name?

be used at all. She did not change her name she kept her maiden name. She did not

This made it possible for economists to track the life outcome of any woman. Using regression analysis, they discovered that on average a person with a black sounding name does have a worse life outcome than someone with a white sounding name. If two people, one with a “black” name and one with a “white” name, were born into the same circumstances they would typically have the same life outcomes, but the one with the “black” name would not typically born into good circumstances. Therefore, a name is “an indicator--not a cause--of his outcome” (Levitt & Dubner, 2009, p. 192). So if someone was advantageous enough to change their name for the sake of economic success, they must be highly motivated which is a strong indicator for

When you want to go by your last name, that means you want to receive more authority and respect from others. By going by his last name, Jack has more domenice, which leads to power and

(Angelou 77). These black women had a very large part of their identity, their names, changed because of their race. They were viewed as inferior and the whites thought they could do whatever they pleased to them. You simply cannot change a name because it’s easier for you to

c.Gentlemen of the old regime in the south would say,Awomans name should appear in print twice when she marries and wen she dies wrote Arthur Wallace Calhoun In 1918.

(87). The wife of Curley does not get called by her first name because she is known as Curley’s property. She most likely acts the way she does because she does not have

In the blog post written by Jill Filipovic named “Why should married men change their names? Let men change theirs.” Filipovic covers the controversial issue of the fact that the majority of women lose their last names as part of the twenty-first century marriage. This, along with some history behind names, gives a telling commentary on women’s rights and identities.

Charles Plant, in his Globe and Mail essay presents this conundrum: “as a grandpa-to-be, I have opinions on what my grandchild is named – if not any influence”, writing about his own, then later his daughter’s, struggles with naming their respective children. Plant goes into detail about our decidedly patriarchal naming system, and whether or not grandparents have any influence in the all-important tradition of the naming of a child. Stripped down to its most basic concepts, this essay is about one of the most prevalent forms of sexism: the tradition of naming all of our children after their paternal surname. Plant believes that children should carry their mother’s surname, though he concedes that mothers in turn carry their own paternal surname, revolutions must start from somewhere. He also highlights the fact that male sons often carry their father’s given and surname, often stylized as “Junior” or “the Second” and so on.

One example of this is Gigi. In the story Gigi is a very young woman who has an older suitor. As well, she had portrayed this in a small way by using her first husbands name as a pen name. The pen name was “Willy” as her first husband’s name is

They go back to our ancestors that have originated our last names. There is background for almost every last name in your community and that is the great thing about it. Long after you are deceased, you will be remembered for the great things you have done. You will not just be remembered for yourself, but for the things that you have accomplished in your community as well. You will always be recognized and remembered for the things that you chose to do in your community. Community is a big part of you and everything you do will be associated with it.

Tannen found herself, “looking at the three other women at the table, thinking how each had a different style and how each style was coherent” (388). However, Tannen does not observe the men, as they all look relatively the same. She believes that they are allowed to be the same, they are allowed to be unmarked. Women do not have this privilege according to Tannen. An example of logos reasoning is found when Tannen discusses women taking a man’s last name when they are married, saying, “All married women’s surnames are marked. If a women takes her husband's last name, she announces to the world that she is married and has traditional values. To some it will indicate that she is less herself, more identified be her husband’s identity. If she does not take her husband’s last name, this too is marked, seen as worthy of the comment: She has done something, she has ‘kept her own name’. A man is never said to have ‘kept his own name’ because it never occurs to anyone that he might have given it up. For him using his own name is unmarked”

In today’s society it has become a norm to use the males surname for the new family, when married the women and their kids usually use the husband or fathers surname but in the article “Take Me, Take My Name?” it is said that the choice between male and female surname is actually equal, however the preference is not. This is because in the past sexes were seen unequal and with superiority. Men have natural masculine flaws such as pride, territorialism, and sometimes even jealousy or possessiveness so when it is in question which surname to use after marriage, the argument is won by men because they seem to have a stronger position on this than women. Women have to make the choice whether to identify with their family of origin or with the family

A man can marry a woman, a man can marry a man, and a woman can marry a woman. Although, marraige laws can vary depending where you live. The American culture is monogamous. Being married to more than one person is not something that really occurs in the US. I have the last name Lupien.

This is also strange for a woman to do because she must follow her husband’s

“Your last name is Stanz? That doesn’t sound Indian at all.” I have heard this question a ridiculous amount of times. I always end up explaining the same story. When my dad came over from India, he filled out the paperwork backwards and put Kannan as his last name and Sankaran as his first; the correct way to do it in India. When my parents got married, my mom did not want to be named Barb Kannan or Barb Sankaran for that matter. So my parents did some brainstorming. They mixed my mom’s maiden name, Lutz, and Sankaran, my dad’s first/last name; and voilà, Stanz was born. Explaining this story over and over I can’t help but think, do last names have to represent ethnicity? Or can it mean more than that? Stanz does not equate