MARITAL NAME CHANGE : A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF WHY WOMEN CHOOSE A TRADITIONAL NAMING PRACTICE

Abstract

This thesis investigates reasons for the traditional practice of marital name changing among women. Research shows that the majority of American women will follow a traditional naming practice upon marriage which is reflective of the compliant behavior among women in a patriarchal society. Using a mixed methods approach, the focus of this research is to gain a better understanding of the reasons for the traditional practice of marital name changing among women in two samples of data. Results from the two samples used in this study show that the decision about marital name changing is closely tied to social norms, and specifically traditional practices, which is consistent with current literature. However, the qualitative data from my sample contributes extraordinary depth to this study by adding rich description from the respondents that was not available from the survey respondents. This in-depth information reveals that the women not only choose traditional naming practices because of social norms and tradition, but may also have conflicting feelings about their decision. The respondents' reasons and experiences with marital name changing reveal the ways that social norms shape people's personal decisions regarding significant life changing events while also showing how the decisions made by people in turn shape society. The issue of martial name changing illustrates the complexity of social life.