changing of surname history

[melfitz]

How long have women been changing their maiden names to their husbands surname when marrying

[Oneeyedvic]

I think that does depend on the country you are in - i know my parents are from Sri Lanka and both my parents took on a new name when they got marries - seemed to make a lot of sense - both starting married life with a new name.

[zgma]

Yes, that does make lots of sense Oneeyedvic. Is that culturally the way it's done, or are your parents very forward-thinking? I don't know how long women have been changing their names, but I suspect it has to do with a "property exchange" - as in, the woman used to belong to her father (hence using the father's surname) and then became the property of the husband (hence changing to her husband's surname). That fabulous idea has been around for millennia, at least as far back as 10th century BC, when the earliest parts of the bible were written (in which women were treated as the property of their menfolk).