Polly Hudson celebrates the newfound popularity of men and women sharing both surnames after marriage (Brooklyn Peltz Beckham set an important trend. Will other men follow?, 8 January).
Great – but what’s wrong with everyone keeping their own names? And why has even this small step taken so long?
When I married for the first time in 1975, I kept my maiden name (and have done so ever since). I would have been amazed – and dismayed – if you’d told me that 50 years later, women would still be taking their husbands’ names.
Cherry Weston
Wolverhampton
• There is an earlier, quite famous instance of this male name-adding, before Brooklyn Peltz Beckham: John Winston Lennon became John Winston Ono Lennon in 1969.
Richard Butler
Bristol
• Men who want to double-barrel their surname after marriage do not need a deed poll. When we did it 30 years ago, my then wife’s name change was waved through, but various bodies asked me for a deed poll. When I suggested that they should apply the same process as for a married woman, suddenly all they required was a marriage certificate.
Toby Morse
Bristol
• It may be nice to think that couples who combine both surnames are flying the flag for feminism, but let’s not forget that even “maiden” names are patrilineal in origin.
Sarah Stewart
West Horsley, Surrey
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