This, like many others, is one of those things whose meaning or history is neither brought up nor thought about enough; it's one of those that are an apparent given of how life both is and is supposed to be.

To some, the question of whether or not women should change their names to those of their husbands is one of threat. It can be argued to be a threat to society, but more specifically, to the family unit. The family, being arguably the most important unit of society, has been an instrument to avoid questions like this, all in an attempt to keep our most important structure standing.

To me, this couldn't be more inaccurate. The question of whether or not women should legally discard their birth surname shouldn't be tied to any other factor other than the subject in question, which in this case would be women. For centuries and across generations, society has had a constant say on what is and what isn't appropriate for women to say, act, or even think.

The chronicle (England) of women changing their names when marrying their male partners is one that's rather, well... unsettling. In summary, in the middle ages, within the English common law, there existed something called "coverture," which meant that a female had no legal identity. At birth, her identity was under her father, and when she got married to her husband, they would become one, but it's not as we understand it to be; rather, the law saw her as legally dead, meaning she wasn't recognized but her husband was, so to be one meant to be her husband.

Time has changed drastically from disturbing ideas like that, but amongst some in society, especially towards heterosexual couples, there is still belief in the mandatory replacement of names for the woman, and while none of it is enforced by law, it still holds a high societal value in some parts of the world. Women get stigmatized for wanting to keep their name. Sometimes, the situation goes as far as the engagement being cancelled by the potential spouse, who feels disrespected. This has to be considered one of the many hidden oppressions that society still holds onto.

Considering its hideous origin, we see that a name change isn't one with any inherently good meaning attached to it. A woman's choice to keep or change her name should be one within her very own rights, not just legally but also in the eyes of society. The importance of a name change is one that is subjective to the people involved—an attempt to push a narrative that states otherwise should be halted by everyone who catches such events unfolding.

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