Two in three young British women wont take partners surname when they marry, research claims

Just a third of young British women want to take their partner’s surname when they marry, research claims.

And almost a third of men aged 18 to 34 say they would ‘feel positively’ about a man taking their spouse’s surname, it was claimed.

Overall, 27 per cent of Britons of all ages have a positive view of a man taking their spouse’s surname when they wed – compared to 25 per cent with a negative view.

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

The findings show the traditional route ‘remains the norm’, with 56 per cent of men 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 had 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 YouGov poll of 2,192 adults revealed a 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 do so, just 35 per cent of women aged 18 to 34 would follow this tradition.

Just a third of young British women want to take their partner’s surname when they marry, research claims

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.