When a woman chooses not to take her husband’s surname after marriage, people perceive her husband as being higher in traits related to femininity and lower in traits related to masculinity. He is also perceived as having less power in the relationship. This is according to a study led by Rachael Robnett of the University of Nevada in the US. The research is published in Springer’s journal Sex Roles and is the first to examine whether people’s perceptions of a man’s personality vary depending on whether his wife adopts his surname or retains her own.

According to a recent study by American researchers, married men who change their name to take their wife's name would lose their "dominant male" status within the couple. In contrast, wives who choose to keep their maiden name are seen as powerful and ambitious.

While most women still take their husband's surname after they marry, various alternatives have become more popular in recent years. Husbands take their wives' surnames, some couples combine their surnames and, of course, women are increasingly shunning the practice altogether and keeping their own names.

More than 80 per cent of Australian women take their husband's name when they marry. Each to their own, but this one has always puzzled me.

The findings published in Sex Roles: A Journal of Research suggest that when a married woman does not use the surname of her husband, people tend to view the man as effeminate.

While women are increasingly choosing to keep their maiden name after marriage, a new study suggests that this choice can influence how people look at the husband.

Today in “Why is this still a thing?”: Keeping your maiden name could affect how people view your husband.

An increasing number of women are choosing to keep their maiden name upon marrying.