THE ORIGINS
OF BRIDAL NAME CHANGE

Part II: Why Brides Change Last Names

In part one of this series we looked at the reasons behind the tradition of brides changing their last name upon marriage.  These are:

The first reason came about due to the patriarchal laws and customs governing civilization until about 150 years ago. The second, 'Designation of a new life direction' and third reasons, 'Acknowledgement of God's presence in and endorsement of the marriage' find their origin within faith, Judaism and later Christianity from whence the tradition of changing surnames originated.

NAME CHANGE TO
HONOR A NEW DIRECTION

Through the first 4,500 years of biblical human history, surnames rarely existed and people operated on a first name basis.  Surnames didn’t occur with frequency in western society until the tenth century AD or become accepted until the eleventh. Exceptions occur, generally within royalty and ruling parties, but most people were identified with their tribes, culture, city, job, position or influence: King David,  Erik the Red, Attila the Hun, Julius Caesar, Socrates, Aesop, John the Baptist, Jesus of Nazareth, Mary Magdalene [6]. Then a person’s name qualified its bearer like a business card rather than today’s use of names, to identify like a serial number.

Though surnames wouldn't exist for several thousand years, the name-change tradition actually premiers in the book of Genesis with Abram. Abram’s name (meaning exalted father) is changed by God to Abraham (meaning father of many), signifying his new role in service to God.

GEN 17:3-6

"And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying. As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shall be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee."

God gave Abram a new purpose and to this new purpose a new title, Abraham. Next God changes Abraham’s wife Sarai’s name to Sarah, (meaning Princess). 

GEN 17:15-16

"And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her."

Together Abram and Sarai are to give birth to many nations. In fact they do via a miracle. It is from Abraham and Sarah generations later that King David and Jesus Christ emerged.  Abram’s age is estimated at one hundred and Sarai’s at eighty when she finally gives birth to her first son.  Abraham’s acceptance of this as a done deal, which he accepts without question or doubt, despite the obvious physical constraints demonstrates his faith. Therefore the significance of changing names upon the formation of a new union blessed by Him [7] makes perfect sense.

To those not of the Book (the term used to describe followers of Judaism, Islam and Christianity), this may seem silly. Faith based issues aren't always logical to those outside the faith. Whether you are a believer or not doesn't change the origin of the tradition. The bible is where the tradition comes from and the tradition reaches beyond the story of Abraham and Sarah or Adam and Eve.  Changing names occurs outside of ancient monotheistic traditions.  The difference is the significance of the marriage covenant in monotheistic marriages.

CHANGING OF NAME
= CHANGING OF PURPOSE

A religious text and a historical document, the Bible illustrates the customs, lifestyles, beliefs and traditions of ancient cultures within its pages.  And though God initiated name changing with Abraham and Sarah, the tradition carries through pagan and polytheistic societies including the Romans, Greeks and Babylonians.

Leon Morris in his book “The Epistle to the Romans” explains the significance of name change in the ancient world: “…in antiquity generally it was held that in some undefined way the name summed up the whole person. That is the significance of changing a person’s name.  God changed people’s names at times when he bestowed a new character on them. When one person changed another person’s name it emphasized his lordship.” [8]

In ancient times, what you were called designated who you were at that point in your life and often your social and economic position. A changed life course or purpose is announced by changing your name; marriage is one of life's major transitions, perhaps the most profound followed by the birth of a child. Consider the following two examples of name changing due to a change in direction:

EXAMPLE 1:

A friend of mine was born in Jerusalem in the 1950’s.  Upon his birth he was given an Arabic name, which allowed him to blend in with the Muslim majority and function within society.  However upon his baptism, an event Christians believe sets us on a course with God, he received a new identity, a Christian name. This change demonstrated to the world he now follows a new life path with a new purpose.  Though born with an Arabic name, he is known by his Christian name.

EXAMPLE 2:

Prior to becoming an Apostle, Paul was Saul. When he became Christian he changed his name to Paul.  He remains the same person yet becomes known by a different name because his life changed direction: Paul became a servant of Christ.  As a Pharisee, Paul was Saul.  As a Christian Saul is Paul. Paul’s name change signifies the new path of his life and his new COVENANT with God.

The practice of changing ones’ name to mark the beginning of a new life trek describes a tradition over five thousand years old.  In times past, it was given names. Surnames didn't reach commonplace in society until the 11th century AD. Before then Sarah was simply "Sarah wife of Abraham".  Sarah didn't have a last name. Neither did Abraham.

When a woman marries a man she signals to the world her new identity by changing her name to her husband’s. If she's Christian or Jewish, upon marriage she enters into a covenant between her husband, herself, and God change also acknowledges God’s new creation, the couple and thanks Him for bringing her husband and herself together. She becomes part of something greater than herself: a union blessed and created by God.

EXCEPTIONS:

It should be noted in many Islamic societies, though Islam also follows the first five books of the Old Testament including Genesis, many Islamic women do not follow the Jewish and Christian tradition of changing their last names to their husband's.  In Iran, Yemen, Jordan and Syria, a Muslim bride may only change to her husband's surname upon a court decision, a distinction of regional culture within specific Islamic countries that does not apply to all global Islamic marriages. This does not mean a married Islamic woman is not referred to as "Mrs. Joe Black" socially. It does mean on legal documents she signs with her maiden name unless the courts have changed such.

One reason for this is, despite current stereotypes and some cultural anomalies, is that the Koran mandates equality to women, though like all faiths, not everyone abides by this.  Whether or not specific families or cultures adhere to it, the requirement is in the Koran, and a large percentage of Muslim women living in Islamic societies have been able to inherit property and wealth since the 1200s, nearly 700 years before their Christian and Jewish counterparts.  The need to change one's name to assure property wasn't necessary for them.

Another area where the name change tradition is embellished to fit the customs exists within Latino cultures. Most Latin based societies, which are predominantly Christian, developed a unique solution to the name change issues. The married couple is still Mr. and Mrs. (his last name) in public and for all purposes except legal contracts. The wife's maiden name becomes her children's middle name thus allowing both family histories to pass to the next generation. This creates rather long names, but facilitates genealogy.

MODERN MANIFESTATIONS

OF THE NAME CHANGING TRADITION: Hyphenation

What about hyphenation? Patricia Wen a writer for the Boston Globe in her March 17, 2001 article entitled: "Tradition, in name only--Most brides keep convention of taking husband's surname” notes:

“The women who began defying this social convention tend to fall into a narrow demographic category: highly educated and urban, often from the Northeast. For instance, in the Harvard-Radcliffe College class of 1990, 47% of married women currently keep or hyphenate their maiden names, a large percentage, but only 1% more than in the class of 1970, Radcliffe officials report.”

Wen's definition of hyphenators fits, but the why still wiggles.  Next the scholarly rendition honors secularism padded in ten-dollar words resembling an excuse not reason:

"The married change-name is, among other things, a psychological act, an imprinting by society on the (bride-bridegroom) initiate’s consciousness. A newly coined married name encodes new information about the man or woman. It connotes primarily that a new social relationship has occurred. A new name is a symbol of allegiance to a new person, a new nexus of relations, a starting-over."

Marriage, naming and the state: JC Maher, Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, Volume 10, Number 2, February 2001, pp. 313-329(17)

Don't worry if you didn't quite understand Maher's explanation.  I had to read it several times myself.  He confirms what the Bible explains without providing the source.

ACKNOWLEDGING GOD'S PRESENCE
IN THE MARRIAGE

Author's Thoughts

I began researching this because I wanted to know why I should change my last name when my fiancé and I wed. I have a great last name and I've been using it professionally for over 25 years so I really wanted to know if this was simply a custom or if it had deeper meaning. I'm also quite religious, though I don't fit and actively rebel against the current stereotype of a conservative Christian. If I was going to do something as drastic as change my name, I wanted to know why and if there was a special significance to this.  I had no idea the answer would be in the Bible, let alone religious.  In retrospect, this should have been the first place I looked. A vast majority of our customs, traditions and clichés in the West originate in the Bible.

The question remained though, should I change my last name? As a future wife it is paramount to me that my marriage be blessed by God and that He be part of it. I believe God marries us, not the state.  I believe my vows are to my husband and God, not the United States of America, the State of California or the county of Los Angeles. Only God can endorse, bless and acknowledge my marriage though the state may attempt to tax, legislate or control it. It really doesn't matter what the state does in relation to marriage, what it calls marriage or for whom it creates legal contracts granting marriage. I just needed to know my future husband and I are staying true to our faith and our beliefs. That means that we're honoring and upholding the traditions of the church and we understand the basis for those traditions.

Researching this article I realized the significance of changing my name is to pay honor to the union God creates and the blessing He bestows. For me, this is all the reason I need take my husband's name over mine. I'll keep my maiden name as a pseudonym for my writing, but for everything else I'll be known as by his. For me the decision to yes, change my last name upon marriage, is religious rather than custom or tradition. Fortunately for us all, it is a matter of  choice.

CONCLUSION

The three reasons governing a bride’s adoption of her husband’s last name are: Protection of family and wealth, designation of a new life direction and acknowledgement of God’s presence in and endorsement of the marriage.   The tradition begins in the Old Testament and transcends faith to the polytheistic societies of Greece, Babylonia and Rome where tradition held names changed when life's path or purpose changed. Modern society makes the practice of taking the husband's last name voluntary.

Western society [9] draws heavily upon Christianity, first Catholic and later Protestant for many of its customs, laws, traditions, values and history.  Despite attempts in modern times to minimize Christianity and its influence via enlightened secularism, western society owes its values, principles and laws to Christianity.  Given this, it is logical the primary reason brides change names may be found in the Bible. It also explains why so few journalists and educators know about or considered this source.

In the early 1990’s a theological survey covering journalists and their moral/value teachings was published.  The survey discovered fewer than 11% of journalists, (conservative or liberal) actually practice their faith [10]. Unless teaching theology or ancient civilizations professors as well rarely read the Bible or quote it thus explaining why none of the sources I consulted in media and academia could answer the question of why women change last names. Western society treads water within conditioning applied to discount faith and faith teachings’ impact upon our daily lives as old fashioned, stifling or prejudice.  Labeling to prevent inquiry doesn’t change the reality or impact.  It does close minds, thus eliminating options. I believe this is the primary reason so few articles exist on this subject other than to advise on the legal aspects or financial considerations. 

About the Author:

Laura Dawn Lewis is the Publisher and Founder of Couples Company and the author of 2012 Event, Editorial & Promotional Calendar, The Storybook Advent Calendar: 24 Stories for Christmas and the Laid Off Now What Series. She can also be found on LinkedIn.

RELATED ARTICLES

The Covenant Relationship

Masculine Energy vs Feminine Energy

3 Little Changes That Ignite Your Dating Life

Why Brides Change Their Last Name

Not Your Mother's Bridal Shower

From Relationship to Marriage

Need more information on this topic?
Couples Company recommends the following
RELATED PRODUCTS:

The Alternative Bride's Guide to Wedding Savings

Amazing Marriage & Wedding Vows

Wedding Savings Revealed

The Romantic's Guide to Popping the Question

Marriage Vows & Wedding Vows

Mother of the Bride Speeches

How to Buy a Wedding Gown Like a Pro

REFERENCES

[6] Mary Magdalena was so called either from Magdala near Tiberius, on the west shore of Galilee, or possibly from a Pharisaic expression meaning "curling women's hair," which rabbinical teachings explain means of an adulteress.

[7] The faiths of The Book, Jewish, Christian and Islam believe that God marries a couple.  The state cannot.  The vows taken during the ceremony are to each other and to God and in so doing faithful Jews, Christians and Muslims enter into the marriage covenant, a covenant defined by their faith and obedience to each other and God.

[8] Selected Bible passages relating to God’s changing of name.

Gen. 17:5: No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. GEN. 17:15: Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. GEN. 32:28: And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 2 Kings 24:17 17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

[9] Denotes the customs of Europe and later the Americas

[10] Many of our modern sayings, laws, customs and traditions originate specifically in the Old Testament, which contains books shared by all three monotheistic faiths and the New Testament, which is Christian.
 

Have a comment on this article or information you'd like to share with other readers?  Don't be shy!  Leave your comments below.

Cycleboy commented on 21-Jan-2012 12:37 PM

"Therefore the significance of changing names upon the formation of a new union blessed by Him [7] makes perfect sense." Yes, but you've holed your own thesis below the water-line by citing the verse in which God changes the names of BOTH Abraham and Sarah.
By this logic a woman should NOT take the man's surname because the man is not also displaying HIS change of status. They should either swap names or, if a single name is important, they should take a completely new name.

Cycleboy commented on 21-Jan-2012 12:49 PM

"Don't worry if you didn't quite understand Maher's explanation. I had to read it several times myself. He confirms what the Bible explains without providing the source." I'm sorry, but he is not confirming your particular claim. His explanation is quite
clearly states; "A newly coined married name..." which means a new name for BOTH the man and woman. I take this to mean an entirely new name or a hyphenated one. What it cannot mean is one party taking the name of the other (whichever way around this might
be) as, by definition, one party will not be changing their name.