After the wedding: men rarely take the name of your wife

Only six percent of German couples decide to adopt after marriage the family name of the wife. This is the result of a study by the society for the German language, which was presented on Wednesday in Wiesbaden. In three-quarters of the cases, couples choose the surname of the man – in 1976, there were still 98 percent.

Prior to 1976, was the choice of birth name of the woman as a married name in Germany is legally not possible. Since 1994, both spouses can keep the marriage, your respective names. Despite these opportunities, only one out of every 16 sets today. Husband his last name. Almost twelve percent of the couples decide to keep their birth name. A further compromise of the double name. This is about eight percent. In the context of the study, the society for the German language received since 1976, in the space of ten years of detailed data of 174 Offices. So an average of 20,000 marriages per Year were recorded.

interviews revealed that couples use to justify their decision to take the man’s name, often with the Tradition. “This reasoning is used mostly by the men themselves, who find it sometimes as a sign of weakness, of Unmännlichkeit, if you accept the name of your wife. This Thinking is rooted in the minds of many people is still strong,“ says Frauke dog Bush, spokeswoman for the society for the German language. As additional reasons for their choice of name pairs also the sound of the Name, a dying family line, or on the name built up the career of a spouse.

In many countries, is handled the change of name after marriage is different. In the United States, in which each adult basically, its name can change (with restrictions depending on the state), it is not uncommon to combine the surnames of both spouse. The former mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, got his last name due to the merger of his birth name Villar and his wife, Corina Raigosa. Also in the UK, since a few years is a Trend.