Writer Jenny Sanders explores the history, traditions, and shifting cultural meanings behind surnames and first names. From colonial laws to biblical legacies, she reflects on how names shape identity, equality, and destiny.
Judges in South Africa have recently overturned an historic law that prohibited husbands taking the surname of their wives. The Constitutional Court agreed that the traditional practice of women taking the surnames of their husbands but not visa-versa was a ‘colonial import’, no longer relevant in modern society. A new ruling will be established in law.
In the UK the tradition of taking the husband’s name stems from the medieval laws when coverture was the norm. This term means that on marriage a woman is immediately under the authority and protection of her husband. More pertinently, and perhaps more sinister, is the fact that by transferring her surname to his, she also transferred all her legal rights to him too.
Remember that up until the Second World War, women often had to give up their jobs if they got married.
Remember that up until the Second World War, women often had to give up their jobs if they got married. We only got the vote in 1928, and it took another forty-seven years until we could have a bank account in our name, apply for a loan or obtain a credit card without the signature of our father or husband. Happily, things have changed!
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These days, some of us opt to combine our surnames into a double-barreled name. Individuals on Facebook often include their original surname to help old school friends and those from yesteryear discover them; but that’s not a legal status.
However, it’s not uncommon for professional women to keep their maiden names (how archaic that term sounds), and it’s no longer a legal requirement to change it. We have been emancipated! Having worked to make our way and carve out a space in the many forums of work life outside the home, networked to widen our influence and increase our profiles in our sphere of expertise, it may be counterproductive to change the name that opened doors in the first place.
In an era where same sex couple now get married, tradition has gone out of the window. Some couples swap surnames, some compound the two names, combining and/or hyphenating them, and some carry on as they were.
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Personally, as one of three daughters, all of whom have taken our husband’s surnames, I’m a little sad that my Dad’s family name will disappear from the family tree.
Personally, as one of three daughters, all of whom have taken our husband’s surnames, I’m a little sad that my Dad’s family name will disappear from the family tree. I have one male cousin with an unmarried daughter, so it now rests on her to see if she wants to keep that alive. Biblical genealogies follow the male line of descendants or ancestors reflecting the contemporary cultural precedent. However, first names, or Christian names as we have called them for years, work differently. While these days, popular names for boys and girls include Leo, Oliver, Freya and Amelia, in Bible times they served a more significant purpose. The meaning of a name was carefully considered before being bestowed and announced by the father. Remember how Zechariah and Elizabeth’s friends dismissed her statement that their baby would be called John? Only when his dad wrote it down (he’d been struck dumb after his encounter with Gabriel) did it become accepted.
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Those names were designed to communicate something on a deep level; to encapsulate the hopes of parents for a destiny and prophetic purpose, reinforcing the identity of a child. Isaac means laughter, and both Abraham and Sarah laughed at the thought of having a child in their old age.
Moses was rescued from the Nile by Pharaoh’s daughter and given that appropriate moniker: drawn out, or saved from the water. Hannah named her son Samuel – heard by God – and he was an answer to her fervent prayers. Elijah means My God is Yahweh and his life powerfully reflected that.
The name Jesus, from the Hebrew, Yeshua, means The Lord is Saviour. Throughout Scripture He is referred to with multiple descriptive names. Isaiah 9:6 calls Him: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Jesus even used other names for himself: Light of the World; The Vine; The Door; The Bread of Life etc.
Revelation tells us that one day we’ll receive a new name, a secret one that will fit us perfectly. Surnames will be superfluous for both men and women where God’s name is central.
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