According to an Upshot analysis of data from multiple sources, the practice of keeping one’s maiden name after marriagewhich declined sometime in the 1980’s or 1990’shas begun rising again. Women are choosing to keep their maiden names more for practical reasons than political ones. For many women, sociologists say, keeping their maiden names has lost its significance in defining their independence.

About twenty percent of woman who married in recent years have kept their maiden names, according to a Google Consumer Survey conducted by The Upshot. About an additional ten percent have chosen to hyphenating their name or legally changing it while using their maiden name professionally.

The Google survey found that higher-income urban women were more likely to keep their maiden names. The choice reflects a modern-day approach to gender equality. Since so many women are working and have established their careers with their maiden name, it comes down to the inconvenience of changing their last name versus keeping it.

According to data from the Google survey, the Times announcements and previous studies, women are more likely to keep their maiden names if they are older, not religious, have children from a previous marriage or have an advanced degree and established career.

 

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