Double name (surname)
A double name in the sense of a surname denotes the combination of two surnames. Whether, under what circumstances, in what form and for whom double names are permitted as surnames in a state depends on the socio-cultural development and the associated development of the respective state naming law.
Since names are a key symbol of social affiliation , identity , individuality and self-expression , the design of surnames is subject to far-reaching socio-cultural influence - on the basis of gradually changing social norms . The connotation or valuation a double name contains depends on the respective culture or social order . Where the descent along the male line ( patrilinearity ) was associated with great social esteem , the surname was usually passed along the paternal line and not the surname of the maternal line . In Germany, for example, the surname traditionally follows the paternal line, is referred to as a " family name " and its lack has long been considered a flaw .
In Spanish naming law, the re-Catholicization by the Inquisition led to a bilateral genealogical name formation from father and mother side over up to four generations ( descent rules ). The double name served as a strategy of exclusion towards Jews and Muslims and was intended to prove the "purity of blood ". This had fully established itself as regular naming by the end of the 19th century and passed into modern Spanish naming law . In the Portuguese naming law a similar naming had prevailed - but with the reverse order of mother and father side.
In Europe, naming rights have been increasingly liberalized since the end of the 20th century . On the one hand, it is increasingly possible for a spouse to have two names at the time of marriage. In addition, more and more European countries offer an increasingly free choice of several surnames for the father and mother line of a child. In addition to Spain and Portugal, this also includes France and Poland .
Reasons for and against double names
In the historical and current discussion, the following reasons are mainly given, which speak for and against double names.
| Per | Contra | |
|---|---|---|
| Tradition of patrilinearity and the patrilinear surname | Rejection | advocacy |
| Visualization of the genetic bilaterality of the parentage of mother and father in the child's surname as a central identity feature | advocacy | Rejection |
| Visualization of equal social parenthood between mother and father in the name of a child | advocacy | Rejection |
| Change of surname by a spouse as a central identity feature when entering into a marriage | Rejection | advocacy |
In most societies, the passing on of the family's surname was a socially secured privilege of the paternal line (principle of patrilinearity). Conversely, the name change was a status gain for women and the documentation of their female success in the form of belonging to the partner. Customs and manners of naming were thus a central component of the notions of order and traditions of patriarchal or androcentric societies, which are only slowly disappearing.
In the Western tradition , it has long been about privileges of the nobility , for whom the principle of patrilinearity and the protection of patrilinear surnames were of central importance. In the course of the bourgeoisisation of western societies, this principle was adopted by the bourgeois classes.
To this day, both men and women need a publicly recognized justification when deciding on a different name, such as double names (bilateralism) or naming according to the maternal line ( matrilinearity ). Because such a decision means the reversal of a custom. The following arguments for and against a traditional name decision are given in particular:
- Documentation of belonging to the family of origin, partner, child, parents,
- Status gain,
- aesthetic needs.
By choosing a surname for a child, parents want to make their family recognizable as intact and to illustrate the child's bond with the father and / or his commitment. This also applies to unmarried heterosexual and homosexual parents. In some western societies, in which double names are still mostly forbidden as birth names, it is still mostly women who take on the husband's name or a double name with marriage. The traditional ban on double names and modern equality claims act as a double standard in which the preservation of family unity continues to be the responsibility of the woman and not the man.
Development in Germany
Traditionally , the surname in Germany followed the paternal line , was referred to as " family name " or "marriage and family name" and its absence was long considered a flaw - especially as a sign of illegitimacy or lack of legitimacy . The driving force behind the legal liberalization was, in particular, the rulings of the Federal Constitutional Court , which declared the respective regulation to be unconstitutional and thus made new legal regulations necessary.
With the entry into force of the Basic Law in 1949, the legislature was obliged to establish equal rights in the marital naming law. First, however, the regulation of the BGB from 1896 was continued, that the wife was obliged to use the husband's name. The husband's power of disposal went so far that in the event of a divorce he could prohibit the continued use of the married name under certain conditions.
- From 1957 women were allowed to add their maiden name.
- From 1976 there was free choice of marriage and family name, d. H. either the husband's or wife's maiden name. If no decision was made, then the husband's maiden name became the marriage and family name. The spouse, whose maiden name did not become the marriage or family name, could also prefix the married name with his maiden name or the name in use at the time of the marriage.
- From 1991, spouses could keep their surnames, which is why a regulation for the names of legitimate children became necessary. As a result of a decision by the Federal Constitutional Court, a child could be given the name of the father or mother or a double name made up of these names.
- From April 1, 1994, the legislature again restricted these options and excluded double names for both children and family names. The Federal Constitutional Court approved this in 2002.
Due to the existing ban on double names, the genetic bilaterality of the parentage of mother and father cannot be shown in the surname of children . This favors a traditionalization in the choice of the family name, since often no parent wants to forego the bond with their own child through a common surname. So far, the liberalization of naming law that has been taking place in Europe since the end of the 20th century with the admission of double names as birth names in Germany is not foreseeable.
| 1976 | 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name as a family name | husband | 98% | 74% |
| wife | no information | 6% | |
| Both spouses keep their names | not yet possible | 12% | |
|
Accepting a double name |
all in all | no information | 8th % |
| husband | 4% | 12% | |
| wife | 96% | 88% |
literature
- Berthold Gaaz: The double name as a human right? On the right of the child's name in Europe. In: Jens Martin Zeppernick: Living family law: Festschrift for Rainer Frank . Frankfurt / M. 2008, pp. 381-392.
- Rainer Wahl: Constitutional law and family law - a difficult relationship. In: Jens Martin Zeppernick: Living family law: Festschrift for Rainer Frank . Frankfurt / M. 2008, pp. 31-58.
- Tobias Helms: Decoupling of parentage clarification and father-child assignment - the new §1598a BGB. In: Jens Martin Zeppernick: Living family law: Festschrift for Rainer Frank . Frankfurt / M. 2008, pp. 225-248.
- Volker Lipp: naming rights and Europe. In: Jens Martin Zeppernick: Living family law: Festschrift for Rainer Frank . Frankfurt / M. 2008, pp. 393-408.
See also
- Name law in Germany
- Naming rights
- Alliance name , in Switzerland with a hyphen like Widmer-Schlumpf
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Wilhelm Heinrich Riehl : The family. The natural history of the people as the basis of a German social policy. Vol. 3. 1. – 3. Stuttgart 1855, p. 177ff.
- ↑ a b c Carl Creifelds: Equal rights for women in German law. In: Juristische Rundschau, 1950, Vol. 1950 (15), pp. 449–457
- ↑ a b Hering Torres, MS: Jew hatred, conversion and genealogical thinking in Spain in the early modern period , in: Historische Anthropologie Vol. 15, / 1/2007, pp. 42–64.
- ^ A b c Volker Lipp: Naming law and Europe. In: Jens Martin Zeppernick: Living family law: Festschrift for Rainer Frank . Frankfurt / M. 2008, pp. 393-408
- ↑ Agnes Fines: The new French naming law: a revolution? In: L'Homme, 2009, Vol. 20 (1), pp. 91-96.
- ↑ a b c d Rosemarie Nave-Herz: Effects of the new naming rights. On the history of naming rights in Germany and today's choice of surname . In: Rosemarie Nave-Herz (Ed.): Family between tradition and modernity. Selected contributions to family sociology . Oldenburg 2003, p. 129-142 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Ute Sacksofsky: Marital naming rights under the sign of equal rights . In: L 'Homme: European Journal of Feminist History . tape 20 , no. 1 , 2009, p. 75-90 .
- ↑ Deborah Dempsey; Jo Lindsay: Umgebung Children Born to Lesbian and Heterosexual Couples: Displaying Family Legitimacy to Diverse Audiences . In: Sociology . tape 52 , no. 3 , 2017, p. 1017-1034 .
- ↑ Marret K. Noordewier; Femke van Horen; Kirsten I. Ruys; Diederik A. Stapel: What's in a Name? 361,708 Euros: The Effects of Marital Name Change . In: BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY . tape 32 , 2010, p. ^ 7-25 .
- ↑ Eleanor Peters: The Influence of Choice Feminism on Women's and Men's Attitudes towards Name Changing at Marriage: An Analysis of Online Comments on UK Social Media . In: Names. A Journal of Onomastics . tape 66 , no. 3 , 2018, p. 176-185 .
- ↑ BVerfG: Az. 1 BvL 83/86, 1 BvL 24/88 . March 5, 1991 ( unibe.ch ).
- ↑ § 1617 BGB in the version of April 1st, 1994. Name at birth for parents without married names and joint custody. Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
- ^ Society for the German Language e. V .: Family names at marriage and first name prognosis 2018. December 19, 2018, accessed on March 4, 2019 .