What’s in a (last) name? A new YouGov survey asked Americans about their own surnames and their opinions on different approaches to last names that a married couple might have, such as each person keeping their own last name or both people adopting a hyphenated last name. A woman taking her husband’s last name is the approach that Americans regard most positively and that majorities of men and women say they would opt for if they were to get married today.
Three-quarters (75%) of Americans say their current last name is the same as the one on their birth certificate. Men are far more likely than women to say this (95% vs. 56%). 21% of Americans — including 41% of women and essentially no men — say their current last name is one they took when they got married.
69% of married women say their current last name is one they took when they got married. 29% of married women still have the last name that was on their birth certificate. Among married men, fewer than 1% have a last name they took when they got married that differs from the one on their birth certificate, and 94% have their last name from birth.
Americans are far more likely to have a positive view of a woman taking her spouse’s last name (58%) than of a man taking his spouse’s last name (20%).
32% of Americans have a very or somewhat positive view of both people in a couple keeping their original last names; 18% view it negatively. Americans are split, though, on the two people in a couple combining their last names into a hyphenated last name: 28% view it positively and an equal share (28%) view it negatively. Other unconventional approaches are more likely to be viewed negatively than positively, including the two people in a couple combining their last names into a new last name without a space or hyphen (18% have a positive view and 39% have a negative view) and the two people in a couple taking each other’s last names as middle names but keeping their original last names (18% vs. 31%).
Women are more likely than men to have positive views of the two people in a couple both keeping their original last names (38% vs. 26%), of the two people in a couple combining their last names into a hyphenated last name (33% vs. 24%), and of a man taking his spouse’s last name (23% vs. 16%).
Adults under 45 are more likely than older Americans to have positive views on couples combining their last names into a new last name without a space or hyphen (24% vs. 13%) and on couples taking each other’s last names as middle names (24% vs. 14%).
A similar poll from the UK in March found that British people are more likely than Americans to have a positive view of a man taking his spouse’s last name (27% vs. 20%). They’re also more likely to positively regard the two people in a couple taking each other’s last names as middle names and keeping their original last names (24% vs. 18%).
How would Americans prefer to approach last names when getting married? 32% would prefer for their spouse to take their last name and 30% would prefer to take their spouse’s last name. About two-thirds (64%) of men would prefer for their spouse to take their name, compared to 2% of women; 3% of men and most women (55%) would prefer to take their spouse’s last name. 13% of Americans, including 17% of women and 9% of men, would prefer that they and their spouse keep their original last names. (Respondents who are already married were asked what their preferences would be today.)
Republican women are more likely than Democratic women to say they’d prefer to take their spouse’s last name (81% vs. 42%). Republican men (82%) are more likely than Democratic men (49%) to say they’d prefer for their spouse to take their last name.
Most Americans (56%) say sharing the same last name is not a necessary way for a married couple to show commitment to each other; 32% say it is necessary. Women are more likely than men to say it’s not a necessary way to show commitment (63% vs. 48%).
British adults are more likely than Americans to say it is not necessary for a married couple to share a last name as a way to show commitment (68% vs. 56%).
If someone gets divorced after having changed their name when getting married, 36% of Americans think they should return to their original last name. 6% think they should keep their married last name and 51% say it depends. Men are more likely than women to say a person in this situation should return to their original last name (42% vs. 29%).
If a married man and woman have different last names and subsequently have children, 52% of Americans — including 58% of men and 47% of women — think the children should take the father’s last name. 17% think the children should take both parents' last names as a hyphenated last name and 4% think they should take the mother’s last name.
British adults are less likely to say children should take the father’s last name in this situation (34% vs. 52%). 22% think they should take both parents’ last names as a hyphenated last name, compared to 17% in the U.S.
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- How often do Americans go on dates? Not as often as they’d like
- Love, sex, and heartbreak: Commonalities in American relationship experiences
See the results for this YouGov survey
— Carl Bialik and Taylor Orth contributed to this article
Methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted April 15 - 20, 2025 among 1,162 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty
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