Portuguese Name - Surname and Marriage

Surname and Marriage

The custom of adopting a surname through marriage is not a Portuguese-Brazilian tradition. It spread in the late 19th century in the upper classes, under French influence, and after the 1940s, it became almost socially obligatory. Not doing so was seen as evidence of concubinage, particularly until the 1970s. Nowadays, it has all but disappeared.

In Portugal, a person may adopt his or her spouse's surname(s), but nevertheless the original birth surnames are always kept. For example, if Maria Abreu Melo marries José Santos Almeida, she could choose to become Maria Abreu Melo Almeida or Maria Abreu Melo Santos Almeida.

In Brazil, a woman may adopt her husband's surname(s) and choose to keep or exclude her birth names. For example, when Maria Abreu Melo marries José Santos Almeida, she could choose to become Maria Abreu Melo Almeida, Maria Abreu Melo Santos Almeida, Maria Santos Almeida, Maria Almeida, etc. Usually, in these cases, a woman kept part of her birth name and use part of her husband's surname, in order to avoid having long names. So, the most used combination from the above example should be Maria Melo Almeida.

The mandatory adoption of the new name led to unusual combinations, like in the (not uncommon) case of both spouses having the same surname, when the woman surname was kept. Another confusing situation was, for example when a woman named Ana Lima Silva married a man named João Lima, her name could legally become Ana Lima Silva Lima.

In Portugal, since 1977, and in Brazil, since the 1970s, a woman has the option of whether or not to change her name after marriage. In Portugal, since 1977, and in Brazil, since 2002, a husband can also adopt his wife's surname. In Portugal, when this happens, usually both spouses change their name after marriage (for example, José Santos Almeida and Maria Abreu Melo could become José Santos Melo Almeida and Maria Abreu Melo Almeida or even "José Santos Almeida Melo" and "Maria Abreu Melo Almeida"). In Brazil, there is not yet a perceived pattern.

This custom has been fading since the 1970s and nowadays it is rarely found, due to the cumbersome need to update registries, documents, etc., after the name change and back again in the event of divorce.