More Gen Z women are rejecting this marital tradition (2025)

Just 35 per cent of young British women want to take their partner's surname when they marry, new research has found.

However almost a third of men aged 18 to 34 would ‘feel positively’ about a man taking their spouse’s surname, a YouGov poll of 2,192 British adults found.

Overall some 27 per cent of Britons of all ages have a positive view of a man taking their spouse’s surname when they marry - compared to 25 per cent who have a negative view of this.

But when asked whether they would actually do so, just one per cent of British men of all ages said they would be willing to take their spouse’s surname.

The findings show the traditional route does ‘remain the norm’, with 56 per cent of men of all ages saying they would want their spouse to take their surname and 51 per cent of women willing to do so.

And just five per cent of Britons said they have a ‘negative view’ of the tradition of a woman taking her husband’s name when they marry - with 53 per cent still seeing the practice as positive.

However the research reveals a stark divide between generations when it comes to the tradition of taking marital names, with younger women the most receptive to alternatives.

While up to 60 per cent of men of all ages would prefer for their spouse to take their name and up to 61 per cent of women aged over 35 are happy to take their spouse’s surname, just 35 per cent of women aged 18 to 34 would follow this tradition.

A quarter of younger women would prefer for both husband and wife to keep their original surname, compared to just 11 per cent of men aged 18 to 34 who would favour this.

However the poll reveals that young people are most in favour of alternatives, with 17 per cent of men and 20 per cent of women aged 18 to 34 in favour of double-barrelled surnames, merging surnames or a man taking their spouse’s surname.

Women are also more likely to want both partners to keep their original surnames, with 19 per cent favouring this option compared to 11 per cent of men.

And overall, just seven per cent of Britons would choose a double-barrelled surname, with just 1-2 per cent of people being willing to go for alternatives such as merging surnames.

The findings also show that what people are open to and what they would actually do in their own relationship differs.

Taking a double-barrelled surname is seeing favourably by 34 per cent of Britons, compared to 22 per cent who see it negatively.

But name blending, whereby couples combine their surnames into a single new name, is the most disliked option by Britons of any of those polled. Some 36 per cent see this option in an unfavourable light.

A modern alternative to double barrelling is couples taking each other’s surnames as middle names, while retaining their original surnames. However this is viewed less favourably than double barrelling, with just 24 per cent of Britons in favour.

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