Naming Rights? Analysing Child Surname Disputes in Australian Courts Through a Gendered Lens

Goodall, Zoë; Spark, Ceridwen

doi:10.1007/s10691-020-09443-1

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 24 publications

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“…In other words, in marriage to a man, the majority of women change their surname to his (Carter and Duncan 2018;Gooding and Kreider 2010;YouGov 2016;Valetas 2001). Moreover, there remain normative expectations that children of heterosexual couples, irrespective of the marital status or marital surnaming practice of their parents, are surnamed after their father (Goodall and Spark 2020;Johnson and Scheuble 2002;Nugent 2010). Evidence about surnames and the 'We' identities of couples who are gay is limited, but studies of gay men couples suggest that surname changing is not practiced (e.g., Clarke et al 2008;Patterson and Farr 2017;Suter and Oswald 2003).…”

Section: 'We' Identities and Surnamesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surnames in Adoption: (Re)creating Identities of Belonging

Pilcher,

Flaherty,

Deakin-Smith

et al. 2023

Genealogy

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Names are increasingly recognised in sociology as important routes for understanding family relationships, as well as familial and individual identities. In this article, we use qualitative ‘name story’ data to examine the meanings of surnames for adults who were adopted as a child and for adults who have adopted a child. Our findings suggest that adult adoptees and adopters can feel differently about surnames and how these connect them—or otherwise—to familial identities of belonging and to their own individual identities. Especially for adopters, shared surnames are understood as important for ‘family-making’ through the way they cement and display familial belonging. Adult adoptees’ feelings about belonging, birth surnames and adoptive surnames appeared more complicated and often changed over time. For some, adoption enabled a flexibility in the choice and use of different surnames. Cultures of patronymic and patrilineal surnaming meant that women adoptees and women adopters also faced an additional layer of complexity that shaped decisions made about surnames and family belonging. Through examining experiences of and feelings about family names in adoption, our article highlights the complexities of surname praxis in identity construction, adoptive family life and lineages.

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