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Path coefficients for Study 3 mediation model. Paths for men are on the left; paths for women are on the right. The indirect effect of social dominance orientation on perceived marriage commitment was nonsignificant for men (β = -.04, p = .08) and for women (β = -.02, p = .25). *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001
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The tradition of the wife adopting her husband’s surname continues to be widely endorsed within the U.S. and many other nations. The current research focuses on perceptions of heterosexual women who violate this tradition. Specifically, we examined how women who retain their surname are evaluated with respect to their marriage commitment and person...
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... Norms become more visible in situations where gender and action do not align and examples of such situations include when a woman becomes the head of the United Kingdom in the mid-1900s or Norwegian men change their surname in the 2010s. Until recently, little attention has been given to men's naming choices as gendered, as it is most often women's choice to keep, change or combine surnames in marriage that has faced the greatest interest (examples of this focus includes Noack & Wiik 2008;Omura 2019;Fitzgibbons Shafer 2017;Hoffnung & Williams 2016;MacEacheron 2016;Robnett et al. 2016;Keels & Powers 2013). In sum, the impression is that women must offer an explanation regardless of surname choice. ...
Until recently, little attention has been given to men’s surname choices in couples. By analysing men’s narratives, this study investigates the motivations and social implications of their choices. Drawing on historical and sociocultural perspectives, it demonstrates how men’s names are privileged in Norwegian culture compared to women’s names despite a high degree of gender equality. Men who break the norms want to make their own decisions. Overall, this research contributes to the broader discourse on gender equality by highlighting the transformative potential of seemingly small acts, such as name choices. It also contributes to socio-onomastics by highlighting surname choice as a meaningful and gendered activity.
... Indeed, the opinions of family and friends regarding one's marriage, including one's marital surname decisions, are consistently highlighted as highly important and have demonstrated impacts on relationship longevity and success (Sinclair et al., 2015). Such opinions currently tend to devalue nontraditional surname change decisions; heterosexual women who retain their maiden names in marriage are often considered to be less committed to their marriages than are women who adopt their husbands' surnames, as well as more self-interested and controlling (Robnett et al., 2016;Scheuble et al., 2012;Suter, 2004). Further, men whose wives retain their maiden names are typically viewed as less masculine and holding less power in their marriages relative to men whose wives adopt their surnames, and men who hyphenate their surnames with their wives' are perceived as having more feminine characteristics (Forbes et al., 2002;Robnett, Wertheimer, & Tenenbaum, 2017). ...
... Existing work suggests that these cultural attitudes are likely influenced by sexism, such that women endorse feelings of pressure to conform to "patriarchal norms" when choosing whether to retain their maiden names (Stoiko & Strough, 2017). Indeed, both men and women who score highly on measures of social dominance orientation (SDO), indicating a positive view of identity-based inequities, tend to endorse the narrative that women who do not adopt their husbands' surnames are less committed to their marriages more strongly than do those who score low on SDO (Pratto et al., 1994;Robnett et al., 2016). With respect to endorsement of genderbased inequity in particular, research has shown that men with high levels of hostile sexism consider women who hyphenate their surname with that of their husband to be more likely to engage in acts of infidelity during their marriages (Stafford & Kline, 1996). ...
... Participants' estimation of how committed the subject of each vignette is to their marriage was assessed with the following item: "What do you think is the strength of Sofia's/Caleb's commitment to a successful marriage?" This item was answered on a Likert scale from 1 (very low) to 5 (very high) and is based on the procedures of Robnett et al. (2016Robnett et al. ( , 2018. ...
Couples are making increasingly varied surname change decisions following marriage. However, despite this increased variability, cultural attitudes toward nontraditional surname choices remain rooted in sexism, with women who retain their maiden names often being viewed negatively as individuals and as partners within their marriages. The present study aimed to examine ambivalent sexism as a potential moderator of the link between women’s and men’s nontraditional surname choices and negative perceptions of those individuals and their marriages. To this end, participants (n = 129) viewed a series of vignettes describing heterosexual couples who made traditional vs. nontraditional choices regarding whether to change or retain their surnames following marriage, and participants’ levels of ambivalent sexism were measured. Results indicated that participants with higher levels of sexism perceived nontraditional surname choices, and the individuals who make those choices, more negatively relative to those who make traditional choices. These findings underscore the persistent role of sexism in cultural attitudes toward marital surname choices in an emerging adult population.
... W kontekście badań nad nazwiskiem w dziedzinie nauk społecznych należy jednak podkreślić, że najczęściej za cel stawia się diagnozę opinii społecznej w odniesieniu do przywiązania kobiet i mężczyzn do tradycji oraz analizę społecznej percepcji decyzji między innymi tych nowożeńców, którzy decydują się na przykład na noszenie nazwiska dwuczłonowego (Forbes i in., 2002;Hamilton i in., 2011;Kelley, 2023;Rojas i Prettel, 2020;Robnett i in., 2016). Przykładem tego typu eksploracji mogą być badania przeprowadzone w Stanach Zjednoczonych na temat opinii społeczeństwa o kondycji rodzin amerykańskich, w których udział wzięło 815 osób (Hamilton i in. ...
Artykuł stanowi próbę socjologicznej analizy społecznego fenomenu podejmowania decyzji o zmianie nazwiska noszonego po ślubie przez kobiety w Polsce na podstawie danych z 234 urzędów stanu cywilnego z województw podkarpackiego i wielkopolskiego. Zebrane informacje dotyczą lat 2000–2020 i obrazują ponad 343 000 wyborów kobiet. Zrealizowane badania miały na celu ustalenie zależności rodzaju decyzji o nazwisku po ślubie od miejscowości, w jakiej małżeństwo zostało zawarte (liczba mieszkańców gminy, województwo), oraz wpływu wzrostu aktywności zawodowej i społecznej kobiet w ostatnich dekadach na różnicowanie się tych decyzji. Analiza statystyczna danych urzędowych pozwala na wniosek, że mimo wciąż wysoko utrzymującej się tendencji do przyjmowania nazwiska męża, można zaobserwować rozpoczynający się proces polegający na aprobacie przyjmowania przez kobiety nazwisk dwuczłonowych lub pozostawania przy rodowym. Prezentowane opracowanie stanowi pierwszy etap realizowanych i zaplanowanych badań nad negocjowaniem i podejmowaniem przez kobiety i mężczyzn decyzji o nazwisku noszonym po ślubie i rozwodzie.
... Although it is highly unlikely that women, as a group, believe that surnaming the children of their marriages for their husbands (at the time) will necessarily lead to these husbands taking legal responsibility for the children (Intons-Peterson and Crawford 1985), it is not implausible that name-saking increases investment (see, e.g., Furstenberg and Talvitie 1980;Cherlin and Furstenberg 1986). Additionally, the results of three surveys suggest that brides who retain pre-marital surname are more likely to be perceived by third parties as likely to be sexually unfaithful within the marriage, or to leave it Suter 2004;Robnett et al. 2016). Such actions, if taken, would perhaps lead to lesser investment by husbands in the children of the marriage due to cuckoldry concerns in the former case (see also Tach et al. 2010, regarding lesser involvement with children born out of wedlock, by fathers no longer in romantic relationships with the children's mothers). ...
Women's marital surname change is important, in part, because it affects how often only husbands' (fathers') surnames are passed on to offspring: this, in turn, affects the frequency of these "family" names. Brides-to-be, novelly, from across especially western and central Canada (N = 184), were surveyed as to marital surname hyphenation/retention versus change intention, and attitude towards women's such choices in general. Among women engaged to men, the hypothesized predictors of income and number of future children desired were positively predictive of marital surname retention/hyphenation under univariate analysis. Under multiple regression analysis using these and other predictors from the literature, previously found to be predictive of this DV under univariate analysis, only some of these other predictors were predictive. Of greatest predictiveness was the bride-to-be's own mother's marital surname choice (with brides-to-be, more often than would otherwise be predicted, following their mother's such choice), thus suggesting a possible shift to a transmitted manner of bilateral descent reckoning, towards greater bilateral such reckoning, among a portion of the population. Reported, general attitude towards women's marital surname retention was predictive of participant brides-to-be's own reported (imminent) marital surname retention/hyphenation.
... Furthermore, women who retain their surnames are perceived as holding more power-related traits and being less committed to a successful marriage than women who take their husbands' names. The latter are described as having more affiliative, loving traits (Kelley, 2023;Robnett et al., 2016;Shafer, 2017). Research exploring views of men corroborate this finding. ...
... The low levels of traditionalism in adolescents' responses suggest that the next generation may be faced with the consequences of breaking traditions. Robnett et al. (2016) indicate that this could provoke family conflict if family and friends are strong endorsers of tradition. Indeed, men have proposed before announcing their engagement when their partners had proposed previously (Baker & Elizabeth, 2013). ...
Within most western countries, gendered proposal, surname, and wedding traditions remain widely endorsed. A previous study indicated that endorsement of proposal and surname traditions is associated with higher levels of benevolent sexism (BS) in university students in the USA. Three studies (N = 367) extended research to adolescents (dating age) and 30-year-olds (typical first-time marriage age). For the first time, these studies examined gendered wedding traditions (e.g., father walking a bride down the aisle). Different combinations of ambivalent sexism predicted participants’ opinions about surname change after marriage and the choice of children’s surnames. In younger adolescents (11–18 years; 56 boys, 88 girls, 68.1% White), hostile sexism (HS) predicted endorsement of surname change, whereas benevolent sexism predicted endorsement in 16- to 18-year-olds (58 boys, 84 girls, 76.8% White) and 30-year-olds (37 men, 44 women, 74.1% White). In adolescent samples, both BS and HS predicted endorsement of patronymic traditions for children, whereas only BS did in the adult sample. The findings suggest that different types of sexism predict traditional beliefs in specific age groups.
... Alanyazında, kurumsal düzeyde, kadınların evlendikten sonra kocalarının soyadını aldıkları ataerkil adlandırma geleneğinin, kadınların (ve çocukların) hiyerarşik bir düzende erkeklere ait olduğunu gösteren ataerkil bir durum olduğu belirtilmektedir (Pilcher, 2017). Batı ülkelerinde, bu geleneğin yasal olarak uygulanması terk edilmiştir, ancak yine de kadınların soyadının değiştirilmesi, doğal kabul edilen, neredeyse evrensel bir uygulama olarak devam etmektedir (Carter ve Duncan, 2018;Robnett vd., 2016). Evlilik ile alınan soyadı ve çocuğa soyadı verme süreçleri birbiriyle bağlantılıdır; çocuklara babalarının soyadını vermek batıda yaygın bir uygulamadır (Lockwood vd., 2011;Nugent, 2010 Çin kültüründe soyadı önemli bir yer tutmaktadır ve soyadının değiştirilmesi atalara saygısızlık olarak görülmektedir. ...
Ad ve soyadı dünyada her bireyin sahip olmak zorunda olduğu, bireyin kimliğinin en
önemli parçalarıdır. Soyadı, genel olarak soy bağı, evlat edinme, idari karar, mahkeme
kararı, seçme ya da evlenme yoluyla kazanılmaktadır. Evlilik sonrası kadının soyadı seçimi dünyada ve Türkiye’de güncelliğini koruyan bir konudur. Bu çalışma kapsamında ilk defa, Türkiye’de evlilikte kadınların soyadı tercihleri, Adrese Dayalı Nüfus Kayıt Sistemi verilerinden yeni istatistikler üretilerek analiz edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Evlilikte soyadı tercihlerinin diğer ülkelerde nasıl uygulandığı ile ilgili olarak kapsamlı bir alanyazın taraması sunmak da çalışmanın bir diğer amacını oluşturmaktadır. 2021 yılına ait son güncel istatistiklere göre Türkiye’de resmi olarak evli olan kadınların büyük çoğunluğu (%96,4) sadece eşlerinin soyadını kullanmaktadır. Evlenmeden önceki soyadını eşinin soyadı ile birlikte kullanan evli kadınların ülke genelinde oranı ise 2009 yılında %1,2 iken son 12 yılda yaklaşık 3 kat artış göstererek 2021 yılında %3,6 olmuştur. İki soyadı kullanan evli kadınlar en yüksek oranda “30-34” yaş grubunda yer almaktadır. 2009-2021 döneminde tüm illerde iki soyadına sahip evli kadın oranı artış göstermiş, bu dönemdeki en yüksek artış 6 kat ile Hakkari ilinde gözlenmiştir. Tunceli ili iki soyadı kullanımının en yüksek olduğu ildir. Bu ili sırasıyla İstanbul, Muğla, Ankara ve Artvin illeri izlemektedir. İki soyadı kullanımının en düşük olduğu iller ise Muş, Şanlıurfa, Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep ve Kilis’tir. En yüksek iki soyadı kullanma oranına doktora, yüksek lisans ve yüksekokul/fakülte mezunu evli kadınlar, en düşük iki soyadı kullanma oranına ise okuryazar olmayan evli kadınlar sahiptir. İki soyadını kullanan kadınların çoğunun çocuk sahibi olmadığı hatta evli diğer kadınlara göre daha az sayıda çocuğa sahip olduğu görülmektedir.
https://mulkiyedergi.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/6-S-Bese-Canpolat.pdf
... In theoretical analyses of the marital surname tradition, Pilcher (2017) and Robnett (2017) have asserted that tradition is a manifestation of a power differential that privileges men's status and agency. Robnett supported this view with evidence that women reported pressure from their husbands to change their name and that people who endorsed tradition considered men to have high-power traits, like status, more than women (Robnett et al., 2016;Robnett, 2017). ...
Surname practices in the U.S. are believed to reflect and reinforce the enduring patriarchal nature of U.S. society. Yet, some women and men reject patriarchal expectations. Calls for research accounting for such individual variations have been made. We examine the role that dispositional differences play in preferences for and reasoning about marital surnames in a sample of U.S. heterosexual women and men. With an online survey, we examined 799 heterosexual unmarried emerging adults’ (mean age = 19.9) preferences for their own and a future partner’s surname, reasons for their preferences, and associations with social cognitive dispositions relevant to self- and other-orientations: narcissism and perspective-taking. The findings suggest greater flexibility about women’s surname preferences than previously reported. Approximately one-third of men and women were open to nontraditional options. Reasons for preferences included heritage, tradition, masculinity norms, conceptions of marriage and family, identity, family pressures, and practical reasons. After controlling for age, relational status, traditionalism, autonomy, and career aspirations, lower perspective-taking was predictive of women’s preferences for both partners to retain their birth names, whereas greater narcissism was associated with women’s preferences to retain their birth name. Greater narcissism was associated with men’s desires for both partners to use his name. Taken together, the addition of individual difference dispositions provides greater insight into surname preferences and reasons for those preferences beyond gender masculinity norms.
... They are further perceived as competent and report higher salaries (Brightman, 1994[AQ2]). Although surname retention may denote autonomy (Noack & Wiik, 2008), these women are nonetheless viewed as relationally noncommittal (Robnett et al., 2016), which could implicate them as prone to infidelity or disinterested in the conventions men valuate in long-term relationships (Platek & Shackelford, 2006). Women violating marital naming conventions would likely be perceived as less capable of having a successful marriage and more prone to engaging in behaviors that may undermine the marriage because of the lack of commitment these women appear to display. ...
... Norm adherence should additionally inform perceptions of women's relational attitudes, particularly capability for satisfying relationships being contingent upon adherence. Surname-retaining women are perceived as uncommitted and relationally unsuccessful (Drea, 2021;Robnett et al., 2016). ...
... Although perceptions seemed rooted in antipathy toward women (Glick & Fiske, 1997), perceptions of surname-retaining women's proclivity were magnitudinally double than that of surname-changing women, reflecting perceptions of norm violation as akin to noncommitment (Robnett et al., 2016). Because men and women's HS were similarly predictive of these attitudes toward women, it could be possible that these perceptions could serve to identify suboptimal long-term mates in men and intrasexual threats in women (Vaillancourt & Krems, 2018;Wyckoff et al., 2019). ...
Replicating and extending previous findings, we report two high-powered studies exploring how heterosexual men and women’s decisions to change or keep their surnames following marriage influence perceptions of various marital outcomes as a function of perceivers’ sexist attitudes. Participants in Study 1 evaluated men and women who indicated keeping or changing their surname after marriage, along with an articulated reason for their decision, specifically either to disrupt or reinforce gender norms. Study 2 removed the reasoning of their choice. Independent of participant gender or whether decision reasoning was provided, both studies demonstrated that targets who violated gendered naming norms (e.g., female keepers and male changers) were perceived more negatively than those who adhered to these norms (e.g., male keepers and female changers), particularly for participants higher in hostile sexism. We frame these findings from complementary evolutionary and sociocultural perspectives.
... In a study of married, Catholic, American women, any non-traditional marital surnaming practice was seen by some as indicating the intention to leave the marriage, or self-centeredness (Suter, 2004). A study of college students in the US found that women who retain surname at marriage were seen as less committed to the marriage (Robnett et al., 2016). Based on these results, there are beliefs of ties between (1) women's childbearing within marriage and activities or stances that may lead to divorce, with (2) marital surname change practice. ...
Women’s marital surname change has been discussed as comprising one possible signal of intention to remain married, and may be perceived as such, and valued, by husbands. Here, the practice was investigated as a potential predictor of marital duration among couples who went on to divorce. An archival analysis was based on a search of all available, opposite-sex divorces filed over an 8-month period in a Canadian county. Among couples (n = 107) divorcing, marriages the women in which underwent marital surname change lasted 60% longer, controlling for wife’s age at the time of marriage. When the woman’s marital surname change/retention was used as a regression predictor of number of children of the marriage alongside marriage duration in years, only the latter was predictive. No husband took his wife’s surname. Giving the maternal surname (along with the paternal surname) to children occurred at a negligible frequency. Potential reasons for these findings including costly signaling and, ultimately, paternity uncertainty, as well as possible implications for public policy, are discussed.
... A longitudinal analysis of American newspaper wedding announcements showed that women keeping their birth names does not seem to be increasing: after rising to 23 per cent in the 1990s, its prevalence then reduced slightly to 18 per cent in the 2000s (Kopelman et al. 2009). Previous research has looked at perceptions of women who keep their surnames (Robnett et al. 2016), perceptions of men whose wives keep their surnames (Robnett et al. 2018), and reasons that women change or don't change their surnames (Thwaites 2013). However, "surprisingly few studies focus on surnames given to children" (Eshleman and Halley 2016, 216). ...
Despite major advances in gender equality, patrilineal naming—children being granted their father’s surname—persists as a largely unquestioned norm in those Western countries with predominantly Anglo traditions, even in families where mothers retain their birth names. In Australia, when parents cannot agree on the child’s surname, the issue will go to a court or tribunal, to be decided by a judicial decision-maker. Apart from Jonathan Herring’s (2009) work in the UK, such cases have been little examined by scholars. This paper explores the question of whether child surnames chosen by Australian courts—a supposedly neutral and objective third party—uphold patriarchal logic or provide more equitable outcomes. Using a feminist critical discourse framework, we examine five recent court judgments about child surname disputes, and six news articles about these types of cases. While these cases are not a representative sample, we find that, despite the existence of specific legal principles relating to children’s surnames, decision-makers’ judgments were inconsistent and subjective. Furthermore, mothers’ names tended to be granted to children when fathers were deemed to be ‘bad dads.’
