Just a couple of weeks ago, Brooklyn Beckham (son of David Beckham and Victoria Beckham) married Nicola Peltz (daughter of businessman/investor Nelson Peltz). The couple chose to have Beckham change his middle name to Peltz, so both now go by Peltz-Beckham.
This isn't the first time a celebrity couple has chosen a non-traditional route for combining last names. In 2013, for example, actress Zoe Saldaña married artist Marco Perego, and Perego (but not Saldaña) decided to merge their surnames — becoming Marco Perego-Saldaña.
Of course, choices like this are still far from the norm in heterosexual relationships:
A 2018 study by the Journal of Family Issues shows that just 3% of men changed their last name upon marriage— compared to ~70% of women. In some states, men have to petition the courts to take their partners' last name; in others, only one spouse is allowed to have a hyphenated last name.
Thinking about this topic got us wondering ...
In case you're wondering why women take their husbands' last name ... the answer is long and complicated. But we know around 9th century England, the doctrine of coverture (meaning "covered by") was signed into law, where women were considered "one" with their husbands and had no legal identity apart from their spouse.
This isn't the first time a celebrity couple has chosen a non-traditional route for combining last names. In 2013, for example, actress Zoe Saldaña married artist Marco Perego, and Perego (but not Saldaña) decided to merge their surnames — becoming Marco Perego-Saldaña.
Of course, choices like this are still far from the norm in heterosexual relationships:
A 2018 study by the Journal of Family Issues shows that just 3% of men changed their last name upon marriage— compared to ~70% of women. In some states, men have to petition the courts to take their partners' last name; in others, only one spouse is allowed to have a hyphenated last name.
Thinking about this topic got us wondering ...
? In the future, will it become common for men to change their last names (either by taking their wives' surname; choosing a new, shared surname; or hyphenating both parties' last names)?
In case you're wondering why women take their husbands' last name ... the answer is long and complicated. But we know around 9th century England, the doctrine of coverture (meaning "covered by") was signed into law, where women were considered "one" with their husbands and had no legal identity apart from their spouse.
? Knowing this, do you think the tradition of women taking their partners’ last names is outdated? Or has its meaning simply changed over time? (e.g. Is taking one's husband's last name just an easy/convenient way of combining families?)
See what our followers had to say about this topic.
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