As usual, there are many reasons for the cultural norm. Primarily, one gender taking the other's sir name is a way to identify familial connections. That the woman takes the man's name is because they woman is thought to join the man's family, more than the man joins the woman's. This is somewhat because the couple would usually live on the man's father's farm/ranch, etc., and then take it over when he died. The son/husband would then support his mother, his wife and their children, by working the farm/ranch, until this cycle repeated.
While there certainly were exceptions, this naming thing went along with the normative practice. Geneologists will tell you that where this patern of name adoption at marriage was rejected, it is much more tricky to identify the line. So it worked, for so many generations.
But, like when and how many babies to have, a loving man is very careful to respect his wife and lover's feelings. I didn't tell or try to persuade my wife (of 3 years) what to do. But I did get angaged to a very traditional girl, and she adopted my last name without feeling it was an issue. Her 5 stepdaughters retain there last names, of course. This minimizes confusion.
Choi
__________________
Trueheart
|