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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

One in three new brides keeps her maiden name: Only 62% of wives in their 20s opt to take their husband's name

Rises to 74% for women in their 30s and 88% for those in their 60s
Could show that younger women increasingly identify as feminists
Many newlyweds only use their maiden name in the workplace
By LUKE SALKELD and REBECCA SEALES-7 July 2013

What's in a name? A third of women who marry in their twenties are refusing to change their surnames, a study by Facebook found

Many a young girl has filled up an old notebook or a spare scrap of paper trying out a different name for size.

But it seems that by the time they grow up, they have rather gone off the idea – with a study claiming that one in three new brides now chooses not to take her husband’s surname.

The proportion of women who opt to hold on to their maiden name is highest among those in their 20s.

Just 62 per cent of that age group choose to use their husband’s family name, the research suggests.

For those in their 30s, the number rises to 74 per cent and for women in their 60s it stands at 88 per cent. The survey was carried out by Facebook, which has 33million UK users.

It analysed the names of women on the social media site who said they were married – and compared them to their husbands’ profiles.

Rachel Thwaites, from the University of York, said the statistics showed younger women were increasingly identifying themselves as feminists.

‘The discussion has opened up slightly, but the norm of name changing is still prevalent and there remains cultural and social pressure on women to change names,’ she said.

‘Women who resist this pressure are often doing so as a feminist decision or a move for equality in their relationship.’.