A Man's Right to Choose His Surname in Marriage: A Proposal
![handle is hein.journals/djglp16 and id is 157 raw text is: A MAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE HIS SURNAME IN MARRIAGE: A
PROPOSAL
MICHAEL MAHONEY FRANDINA*
I. INTRODUCTION
I have no name;
I am but two days old.
What shall I call thee?
I happy am,
Joy is my name.
Sweet joy befall thee!1
The modem process of getting one's name requires multiple steps for most
Americans. Parents typically give a child three names at birth.2 The child's first
name, also called the given name, forename, or Christian name,3 and
middle name are typically chosen by the parents.4 The child's last name, also
called the surname, is typically inherited from the parents. As most parents
share the father's surname, the child will usually also share this surname.5 As
children grow up and become adults, they can change their surname by both
common law and statutory methods in most states. However, by far the most
common time to do so is at a change in marital status.6 Typically, a wife takes
* J.D., cum laude, Duke University School of Law, 2008; B.S., magna cur laude, Colorado State
University, 2002.
1. WILLIAM BLAKE, Infant Joy, in SONGS OF INNOCENCE, 35 (line 1) (Courier Dover Publications
1971 ed., 1789).
2. Lisa Kelly, Divining the Deep and Inscrutable: Toward a Gender-Neutral, Child-Centered Approach
to Child Name Change Proceedings, 99 W. VA. L. REV. 1, 9 (1996). Kelly notes that the modem tradition
of giving a child three names may have developed from the Roman system of naming: [a] Roman
normally had three names. There was the praenomen, which corresponded to our Christian or
forename; this was followed by the clan or race name, and last of all came the cognomen or
surname. Id. at 9 n.23 (citing L.G. PINE, THE STORY OF OUR SURNAMES 11 (1965)).
3. Kelly notes:
The term Christian name derives from early Christianity. The first converts to
Christianity took on new names to symbolize their new lives in Christ at baptism. A
Christian name was likely a corruption of christened name. In England the term,
Christian name, became so common an appellation that it was even used to describe the
first names of those who were not Christians. Id. at 9 n.21 (citing ELSDON C. SMITH, THE
STORY OF OUR SURNAMES 1 (1970)).
4. Id. at9.
5. Id.at9-10.
6. Cynthia Blevins Doll, Harmonizing Filial and Parental Rights in Names: Progress, Pitfalls, and
Constitutional Problems, 35 How. L.J. 227, 231 (1992).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/djglp16&div=8&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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A Man's Right to Choose His Surname in Marriage: A Proposal
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