Could a shared surname be linked to a longer marriage?
Research suggests that spouses who keep different last names divorce more often—and tend to separate sooner—than couples who share one.
According to an analysis by the Institute for Family Studies, couples with different surnames divorce at a rate 50% higher than those with the same name. They also remain married for an average of just eight to 10 years before filing.
Couples who share a last name, meanwhile, stay together for roughly 12 years before divorcing on average, the report found. The analysis drew on 2023 Pew Research Center data and Texas divorce records.
“Couples who hold more things in common—from names to money—are more likely to take a ‘team-first approach to marriage life’ that reinforces cooperation, trust, and a sense of a common future,” wrote report author Lyman Stone.
Stone also pointed to elopements and shotgun weddings as potential explanations for the difference.
“Obviously couples who do not share a last name will include some very thoughtful partners who are philosophically opposed to taking the husband’s last name—but it will also include a lot of couples who got married on the spur of the moment and who couldn’t be bothered to get their paperwork in order,” he wrote.
“Non-shared names may partly select for hasty, ill-considered weddings to begin with.”
The report also acknowledged that some women may remain in marriages partly to avoid the extensive paperwork involved in reclaiming a maiden name.
“Bureaucratic hurdles shape divorce rates in powerful ways. Changing a legal name is a huge hassle,” the report states. “It may be that the prospect of having to change back to a prior maiden name, to have one more set of papers to file, actually somewhat discourages couples with shared surnames from divorcing.”
Nationwide, approximately 75% to 80% of married couples share a surname, the analysis found. Conservative, white and older women were the groups most likely to adopt their spouse’s name.
The Institute for Family Studies analysis found that about 86% of women older than 50 had abandoned their maiden names, compared with 74% of women younger than 29.
Education also appeared to play a role: About 85% of women with a high school diploma took their spouse’s surname, compared with 76% of women who graduated from college.
The report did not specify the precise divorce rates for couples with different surnames compared with those who share one.
Stone and the Institute for Family Studies did not immediately respond to questions from The Post on Wednesday.
