The decision to change one's last name after a wedding is no longer one made lightly especially considering everything that has to be updated from social security to passports, bank accounts and insurance.
However, in the U.S., the tradition of taking your husband's last name is still quite common, according to a survey published by the Pew Research Center.
The study surveyed 2,437 U.S. adults in opposite-sex marriages and 955 who have never been married to ask what their choice was or would be.
The study was part of a larger survey consisting of over 5,000 U.S. adults conducted between April 10-16, 2023. A random sampling of residential addresses was used to ensure nearly all U.S. adults had a chance to be selected, Pew said.
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Of women in opposite-sex marriages, most (79%) said they took their husband's last name after they tied the knot while 14% kept their own and only 5% decided to hyphenate both names, according to the Pew Research study.
However, the survey showed more mixed views on the subject among women who have never been married with 33% saying they would take their spouse’s last name while 23% would keep their own. As for the rest, 17% of women said they would hyphenate their own last name with their spouses and 24% remained unsure on what they would do.
Most married men (92%) kept their own last names while a small 5% changed their last names to their wives. and less than 1% hyphenated the two together, the survey showed.
Among unmarried men, 73% said they would keep their own last name and only 2% said they would take their spouses name, according to the study. Just 4% said they would hyphenate the two names while 20% said they were undecided.
The women who decide to keep their own last name after an opposite-sex marriage includes those who are younger, identify as Democrats, Hispanic or have completed a postgraduate degree, according to the survey.
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