Maternal Surname Proposal
Name Change Confusion
Alternatives are being considered to the name changing procedure followed by women after
marriage. Various new methods are being used including keeping the same name, using the maiden
name between the first and last name (e.g., Hillary Rodham Clinton), and using a hyphenated last
name (e.g., Jackie Joyner-Kersee). In other instances the woman chooses to use her maiden name
in a professional environment even though she may have officially changed her last name to that of
her husband, and uses her husband's name in normal non-business activities. In any case the
mother's name disappears in successive generations because the children use the father's (Paternal)
surname.
Maternal Surname Proposed
I propose we improve this situation by changing the procedure for handing down family
names to our children in such a way that both the husband and wife contribute family names to
their children. I propose using a "Maternal surname" as well as the current Paternal surname
for all children. Women would give their Maternal surname to all their children. The
Maternal surname would then be passed down to successive generations of female children much
like the Paternal surname is currently passed down by male children. The Maternal surname could
be a maiden Paternal surname from previous generations or could be a completely new name that
the family agrees upon.
Method of Implementation
This proposal could be implemented in various ways. One method would be to add the
new Maternal surname before the Paternal surname. I will use my family as an example. Let's say
our family decided on a Maternal surname that was the maiden name of my grandmother on my
mother's side -- Bedford. My name would change from David Arthur Nation to David Arthur
Bedford Nation and my sister's name would change from Cathlene Ann Nation to Cathlene Ann
Bedford Nation. I would pass on the Paternal surname Nation to my children and my sister would
pass on the Maternal surname Bedford to her children. Each child would have two family
surnames -- one from the mother and one from the father. Male children like myself would not
pass on the Bedford Maternal surname. Only successive female children like Cathlene and her
daughter Laura would pass down a particular Maternal surname.
My sister would have the choice after marriage as she now has of changing her Paternal
surname or leaving it the same. In either case her Maternal surname would remain the same and
she would pass it on to all of her children. Even if she had children from different marriages with
different Paternal surnames they would all have the same Maternal surname.
Another implementation would be to replace the middle name with the Maternal surname
producing David Bedford Nation. Whichever method is chosen the important principle is to
maintain continuity in passing down the new family Maternal surname to succeeding
generations.
Benefits of Maternal Surname
The use of the Maternal surname is a more balanced naming convention that implicitly
recognizes the equality and importance of the role of both parents in a family. This proposal would
make it less important to have a male child simply in order to pass on the family name. If this
proposal is used both female and male children will pass on separate family names and associated
traditions to their children and to successive generations.
©2000 David Nation
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