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In many cultures around the world, children receive their father’s surname at birth. This is often due to cultural norms, but it can also be enforced through legal frameworks.
However, there are some nations where children receive hyphenated names containing both their parents’ surnames or a double surname. Others have the common practice of giving children their mother’s surname. Although a relatively uncommon practice, this gallery provides an overview of the nations where this is the norm.
Curious to know which countries conduct this practice? Click through the gallery to find out.
Naming has a long, complex history, but for most of human history, it’s largely been an administrative practice to track genealogy.
In Ancient Greece, names usually included a reference to a place of origin. Meanwhile, in England, surnames were first restricted to nobility, only being used by wider society in the 1400s.
The majority of European naming culture takes origin in the English tradition; initially restricted to nobility and only subsequently making its way to the general population.
Patrinames, referring to surnames originating from a father-line, have been an identification method for many years.
Identifying centuries-old documents and information has largely been possible due to this clear lineage.
But there are cultures that have gone against the grain in this practice. Some cultures use paternal and maternal surnames for various reasons. Others tend only to use maternal surnames.
There are two terms that denote receiving your mother’s family name. The first is matriname and the second is matronymic.
A matriname is inherited from one’s mother. This also acts as a line of descent, as it tracks a matrilineal name inheritance.
A matronymic is a surname originating from the given name of any female ancestor of the child. This was sometimes used for children born out of wedlock.
Surname choices have little to do with gender equality, as even the most gender equal places overwhelmingly use fathers’ surnames.
For example, in Norway, only one in every 100 people consider it "better" for a child to receive the mother’s surname instead of the father’s.
In 2022, the Italian Constitutional Court ruled it unconstitutional to automatically provide a child with their father’s surname.
This court decision challenged the common practice of father’s surname attribution and suggests both parents should come to an agreement about which surname to choose.
While in Italy, the courts intervened to change a common practice, other nations have totally different norms.
China is a bit back and forth in terms of its naming traditions. In Ancient China, surnames were derived from the mother. This was until the Shang Dynasty, when names became patrilineal.
This stuck as part of China’s cultural practices, namely because sons carried on the family name. This helped the patriarchal naming practices remain intact until recently.
Today, the practices are becoming more diverse. Some parts of the country are giving children their mother’s surname (about 9% of babies born in Shanghai received their mother’s surname) or combining parents’ surnames to create a double surname.
In Spanish-speaking countries, such as Spain, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, or those that were under Spanish colonization, such as the Philippines, the trend is overwhelmingly to provide children both parents’ surnames.
This practice is also common for Spain’s western neighbor, Portugal, where children often receive both their father and mother’s surname.
During the country’s dictatorship period, some men also took their wives’ last names to evade military service, which did result in a period of children taking mothers’ surnames, technically-speaking.
While in Spanish-speaking cultures, the father’s surname typically comes first, in Portugal, the mother’s surname comes before the father’s.
While in South Korea it is common to use the father’s surname, many ancestral records include many details about women and their birth families.
In many indigenous cultures around the world, matrilineal naming practices are quite common and an intricate indicator of the child’s identity.
Examples of these cultures include the Iroquiois Confederacy and Cherokee Nation (North America), the Akan (West Africa), and the Naxi (China), among others.
Many African cultures do follow a patrilineal system in terms of naming, but there are groups that have always and continue to maintain the matrilineal tradition.
The Luba people from the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, receive their mother’s surname. Even property is passed down through the mother’s side of the family, as women have a central role in land distribution.
The Nandi people from Kenya often use a mother’s given name or clan name. Children also inherit social status from their mother’s side.
The Wolof people from Senegal, the Gambia, and Mauritania, also inherit their mother’s surname and men of the maternal family play a significant role in children’s upbringing.
The Yao people from Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania also follow a matrilineal system. Children not only inherit their names, but also land and wealth from their mother’s side.
Sources: (Sixth Tone) (History) (BBC) (Indigenous History) (National Geographic) (PBS) (Time Magazine) (Medium) (My Heritage) (African Studies Center) (University of Chicago Press) (The Guardian) (The Atlantic)
See also: Prohibited baby names around the world
Mum's the word: countries where babies receive their mother's surname
This uncommon practice is the norm in some countries
LIFESTYLE Culture
In many cultures around the world, children receive their father’s surname at birth. This is often due to cultural norms, but it can also be enforced through legal frameworks.
However, there are some nations where children receive hyphenated names containing both their parents’ surnames or a double surname. Others have the common practice of giving children their mother’s surname. Although a relatively uncommon practice, this gallery provides an overview of the nations where this is the norm.
Curious to know which countries conduct this practice? Click through the gallery to find out.