Women are choosing to keep their birth names after marriage, according to a recent study, as more couples reconsider the traditional practice of wives taking their husband's surname.
Taking a spouse's surname remains the most common choice among married women in the US, but a significant minority are choosing to keep their existing names, hyphenate both surnames or make another arrangement with their partners. The shift has renewed debate over what a shared surname means within a marriage and why some couples are moving away from the long-standing convention.
Most Married Women Still Take Their Husband's Name
According to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, 79% of women in opposite-sex marriages said they took their spouse's last name when they married. Another 14% said they kept their own surname, while 5% said they hyphenated their surname with their spouse's.
The tradition is still very much alive, but the figures also show that changing a surname is far from an automatic decision for everyone. Age appears to play a role. Pew found that 20% of married women aged 18 to 49 said they had kept their last name, compared with 9% of women aged 50 and older.
Education was another factor. Among married women with postgraduate degrees, 26% said they kept their surname, compared with 13% of those with bachelor's degrees and 11% of those with some college education or less.
For people who have never married, the choice can be even less settled. In the same Pew survey, 33% of unmarried women said they would take their future spouse's surname, 23% said they would keep their own, and 17% said they would hyphenate. Nearly a quarter were unsure.
Why Are Some Women Keeping Their Own Names?
There is no single reason why someone might decide not to change their surname after marriage.
For some, their existing name is closely connected to their professional identity. Changing it can mean updating passports, bank accounts, employment records, qualifications, social media profiles and other documents.
Others may simply see a surname as part of their individual identity rather than something that needs to change when they get married. As for some couples, the decision is about equality. Rather than automatically adopting one partner's surname, they may choose to keep their existing names or discuss alternatives that work for both of them.
The choice can also be practical. Someone who has spent years building a career under a particular name may not want to start using another surname professionally.
None of these choices necessarily says anything definitive about the strength of a relationship. A couple can have different surnames while sharing finances, a home, children and long-term plans.
A New Analysis Has Linked Surnames And Divorce
The surname debate has received additional attention following a 2026 analysis by Lyman Stone of the Institute for Family Studies. Stone examined 2023 Pew Research Center survey data alongside Texas divorce records. The analysis reported that couples who did not share a surname divorced at a rate about 50% higher than couples who shared one. Among the divorces examined, couples with different surnames had generally been married for around eight to 10 years, compared with about 12 years for couples who shared a surname.
The analysis does not establish that keeping separate surnames causes divorce. Stone himself notes that the relationship may be affected by selection bias because couples who choose different naming arrangements can differ from couples who share a surname in other ways. The data cannot show that changing a surname would, by itself, make a marriage more likely to last.
Keeping Your Name Isn't Rejecting Tradition
The decision over surnames can carry a surprising amount of emotional weight, particularly when couples have different expectations about what marriage should look like.
For one person, sharing a surname may represent family unity. For another, keeping their original surname may represent continuity, independence or simply a preference that has nothing to do with their feelings towards their partner. There is also no universal rule that couples must have matching surnames to be recognised as a family.
Pew's research shows that attitudes towards the practice have become more accepting. In a separate 2024 survey, three-quarters of registered US voters said they were comfortable with women not taking their husbands' last names when they married.
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Would You Change Your Last Name?
For many people, the surname question is one of the surprisingly complicated decisions that comes with marriage. Some may happily take their partner's name. Others may want to keep the name they have used throughout their adult lives. Some may choose a hyphenated surname, while others may create an arrangement that suits their family.
The latest divorce analysis may add another talking point to the debate, but it should not be interpreted as proof that one surname choice determines the success of a marriage. Ultimately, a name is only one part of a relationship. The decision to change it, keep it or combine it is personal, and the growing number of couples discussing alternatives shows that the traditional approach is no longer the only option.
