Married and Maiden Names - Customs Relating To Maiden Names in Marriages - India

India

Indian women usually adopt the husband's surname or family-name as their own. In some communities a woman takes her husband's given name as a middle name after marriage, and adopts his surname as her new surname. In some parts of south India, a woman and her children adopts her husband's first name instead of his family name after marriage, while in others, she will keep her birth name for the whole of her life. In Andhra Pradesh, a woman adopts her husband's surname as her own. In some orthodox families, a new bride might change her full name to one her in-laws prefer.

Several Hindu communities in Kerala, the most notable being Nairs, are matrilineal, and in these groups the woman keeps her name even after marriage. Furthermore, her children will take her family name, rather than their father's. In Kerala, amongst Muslims(Mapilas), the husband's name and surname are added to the wife's name. In example, if Jameela Khader Elongavan marries Habeeb Syed Pokakilath, she would change her name to Jameela Habeeb Pokakilath. One notable exception is the Tamil Muslim community where women continue to use their maiden names after marriage, as the concept of surname is non-existent; this also serves as a precaution against discrimination of converts based on their pre-Islamic caste identities.

Christians generally follow the Western customs. Hindu women normally keep their birth names, but in the new generation, adding the husband's name is also observed. In some communities, the bride's first name is also changed after marriage. In these cases, the family she's married into selects the first name. This practice is quite rare today.

For many of an Indian woman's official documents, the husband's name or father's name has to be mentioned as a legal guardian (e.g., applying for a passport, bank account). This is irrespective of whether the woman is considered a minor or an adult.

In the state of Meghalaya, the practice of changing names after marriage is not prevalent at all. Everyone is known by the birth name for life. The birth first name is the name the parents choose for their child and the last name is, by default, the mother's last name.