Recently, I was involved in a discussion with someone who
claimed that the custom of a woman changing her family name
after marriage is an ancient one in India. I argued that this
may not be the case, as Rama's wife remained Jaanaki after
marriage and Pandava's wife is Draupadi (it is not difficult
to think of many other examples). The counter argument to
my claim was "even though the name didn't change, the vamsam
itself became that of the husband. Jaanaki is from Chandra
vamsam, and she became a Surya vamsi after wedding Rama".
I will be greatful if someone can throw light on questions
like the following. (1) Are there early examples in Telugu/
Hindu literature where a woman leaves her family name to
assume her husband's family name? (2) Are there any
indications that the custom of name change is one of the
many things we got from the West? (3) Is the name change
custom caste/geographical location dependent? (Note that my
question is not about matriarchal/patriarchal society. In a
matriarchal society, my question would be "Did a man have
to leave his mother's name to assume his wive's in olden
times?") (4) What are some good books/articles on this
subject?
Please email your responses directly to me. I can summarize
if there is enough interest.
Regards,
- Sreerama Murthy.