Most women say 'I do' to husband's name
Daniella Miletic
Published: July 20, 2012 - 3:00AM
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GETTING married any time soon? If you are a Victorian woman, chances are you'll be
changing your surname to your husband's. Planning on having a baby? Chances are the child
will take on dad's name, too.
For the first time, new research on last names has been collected - helping to shed light on the
way contemporary heterosexual and same-sex parents choose their last names.
Inspired partly by a controversial opinion piece in 2007 by then Age columnist Catherine
Deveny, Swinburne University of Technology senior lecturer in sociology Deborah Dempsey
set out to track trends in this barely touched area of research.
Her paper, to be presented at an Australian Institute of Family Studies conference next week,
found that sharing the husband's surname after marriage was the norm.
As part of their research Dr Dempsey and co-author Jo Lindsay, of Monash University, used
records from the Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages between 2005 and 2010.
They also conducted an anonymous online survey of 908 Australian parents.
While Dr Dempsey could not get official numbers on exactly how many Victorians changed
their surname after marriage (there is no requirement to register a new married name), the
survey found more than half of married women assumed their partner's surname.
As the survey was from a highly educated sample (overseas research suggests educated
women are less likely to change their surnames), Dr Dempsey believes the overall figure to
be closer to Norway and the United States, where between 80 and 95 per cent of women
assume their husband's name.
The study also revealed that men rarely change their surnames (about 97 per cent of men
surveyed kept their last name after marriage).
It found that 55 per cent of Victorian children have parents with the same surname, and
according to Dr Dempsey's research, this surname is likely to be the dad's name in most
cases. An additional 35 per cent of children have their father's surname when their mother's
surname is different to his.
''Using these statistics, we can safely assume that about 90 per cent of Victorian children have
their father's surname,'' she said.
Only 3 per cent of children with a named father have their mother's surname. ''There is still a
really strong convention of children taking their father's surnames,'' Dr Dempsey said. ''When
couples have different surnames there is some degree of discussion and negotiation about
that, but they tend to resolve it in favour of using the father's surname, and this, to me, is one
of the most interesting aspects of the findings so far.''
Giving children hyphenated or double-barrelled surnames was less popular (only 2.4 per cent
of children). While heterosexual couples were not keen on using these names, lesbian couples
had embraced them. It was also popular for lesbian couples to create a new surname.
For Nadia Di Blasi, assuming her husband's surname upon marriage was never an option. ''It
was clearly inherently sexist,'' she said. ''I assumed it would be the same with our child.''
Looking back, Ms Di Blasi recalls the surname issue as a source of angst in the lead-up to the
birth. ''I wanted [son] Leo to have my surname … It seemed so unfair that I would be erased
from his identity.''
But after Leo was born, some feelings shifted and Di Blasi chose her husband's surname,
Gray, over a double-barrelled last name.
''I was surprised at how visceral the bond I had with him was, and it ameliorated any fear I
had that my connection with him might be diminished because he wouldn't share my name.''
Even so, she describes a lingering feeling of having ''caved'' on the decision.
''I imagine that every couple that has the discussion but then goes with the paternal surname
would have an excuse of some kind to justify their decision. But maybe it comes down to not
being brave enough to go against the tide.''
This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/most-women-say-i-do-tohusbands-name-20120719-22d5c.html