Changing Your Last Name: Research Reveals How Many Women Give Up Names

The Surprising Number Of Women Who Take Their Husbands' Last Names
a happy african american man...
a happy african american man...

Recent studies have shown that the number of women taking their husbands' last name after marriage is on the rise. A new survey of Facebook users hints at just how many women are choosing to give up their maiden names.

In partnership with The Daily Beast, Facebook looked at the names of 14 million married females, ranging in age from 20 to 79 who are currently active on Facebook and married in the United States, according to a report on The Daily Beast Thursday. Facebook determined that of that group, 65 percent of women in their 20s and 30s changed their names.

Even more women in their their 40s, 50s, and 60s changed their names -- 68 percent, 75 percent and 80 percent, respectively.

The study did not account for women who changed their names on Facebook but not legally, and vice versa.

A longitudinal study published in 2009 found a decline in women keeping their maiden names, starting in the 1990s. In a recent survey by HuffPost Weddings and YouGov, 61 percent of people surveyed said that women should take their husbands' name.

Read more results from the YouGov survey in the slideshow below.

Last Name Changes After Marriage

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