Why should the default be that children are named after their fathers?

Question

I've already articulated here http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Atb_XznJurK7hHKy1KR0yAPty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080620121853AAv2TUv&show=7#profile-info-K634rh5Laa why children shouldn't be named, by default after their fathers.

I'd like to hear intelligent reasons why they should. Please, also provide sources if you can find any.

Answer 1

It shouldn't

what is a father any ways? we are nothing but a means to a payday and nothing more. Don't get me wrong i love my child  very much but i am not his father sort of speak for the man she is with now is more so than i am. We are expendable in this respect and replaceable and there fore should not be the name giver because what family are we passing on? We are not. my child does not even know his grand parents from my side because they are dead and to him his step-dads parents are his grand parents as well as her parents. i am nothing , but he does still call me dad bless his little heart.

they are not going to listen to you Capone to them we are worthless and of no need, they want it all for them selves even our part in it. i say let them have it and shun them and there BS marriage manipulative game designed to trap us into paying up.

Answer 2

Tradition is usually the support used to back-up this default to naming children. However, since when is it always right to follow tradition? If we carried on living like we did in the past, homosexuality would be outlawed, we'd still be enslaving people, we'd probably live in caves or go on 'traditional' witch hunts or something. All these things remain in the past for a reason, and we have been redirected from convention. Men are no longer the sole-providers for a family. Sometimes women work and men stay at home, sometimes both work and sometimes neither work (although they really should), therefore this is no longer a good basis for who gets named what. There are many methods which can be used to choose a name. Hyphenating, mixing, choosing by gender of the child, whoever is not bothered about the kid not having their name and who takes care of the child :)

Answer 3

From a logical perspective, the matrilineal connection is usually pretty obvious, given that women are the ones who give birth. Men really only have a patrilineal claim, so it is important to have.

Answer 4

Without pulling the "tradition" card? And I'm assuming you mean a healthy marriage... not a mom or dad ding-dong-ditching.

I would say because maybe the dad's name means more to him than the mom's name means to her. But that's too simple. Maybe since the mother automatically develops a close bond with the child, something fathers tend to miss out on, the kid having the fathers name kinda gives back. He knows its HIS too. But not all of us ladies are mushy mom types and some kids are closer to their dads, so this would be more applicable in "gender stereotype" world- not too far away from here.

Answer 5

When somebody is doing genealogy, it is easier if there is a "standard" system.

Whether it is matriarchal or patriarchal, I don't really care.  Just pick one.  

Hyphenated last names DO NOT WORK because after a few generations, people will have too many last names.  2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64...  you can see how this system will get out of hand.

Systems usually arise for a reason.  Here's my theory:  

It is hard to be a single mom.  It is a lot easier if the father is around to help support the family.  My guess is that a father is more likely to stick around and support his children if his offspring have HIS name, rather than his wife's.

Women will take care of their baby no matter its name, just because mothers are more "motherly".

Taking the male's last name also helps to establish paternity.  Any woman can have a baby.  Obviously it's her baby, because she gave birth to it.  It is less obvious who the father is.  So it helps to give the baby the father's name.  That way both parents are identified.  After all, the baby is the product of both parents.

Answer 6

Historically when a woman married she took her husbands name and became his property, therefore any children also became the property of the father.

It was not until 1839 that in the UK statutory power to award the custody of infants under seven years to the mother rather than to the father, even then custody of any children in a marriage was often awarded to the father.

Answer 7

to carry on the male's legacy. after all, they are the superior gender. Besides, they went through all the hard work of knocking the girl up.

Answer 8

Traditionally, men made the money and kept the house afloat. Thus I think it only fair that the childern take the father's names...traditionally.

Children born out of wed-lock often take the mother's name and the children are free to change their name in later life.

Answer 9

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 10

Obviously, you are not a Christian. The short answer is the Bible. America was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs.

Good answer Peter

ProfessorC, your answer is right, but incomplete. Most, and I mean most Christian denominations pass on the Fathers name. You need to be familiar with your denominations.

Answer 11

Yeah. Men do lots of the work for us, the least we can do is change our last name to theirs

Answer 12

I think  the parents should be asked at birth what the last name of the child is going to be. Obviously if the father isnt involved it should be the mother. Same goes the other way. But as for who makes that decision.  The parents decide together.

Answer 13

It's just a tradition from a time when the man was the main protector and provider of the family. The person who would defend the family and clan when other dudes might come in boats, rape the women, kill everyone else and make off with any valuables.

Answer 14

It isn't just illegitimate children who get the mother's name. A lot of women change their children's last names after they get divorced or the man abandons the family.

Answer 15

In all cultures, even those based on the bible, are not default to the fathers name.

Answer 16

Cus thats how marriage is.

Why should married men only have to sleep with one woman ?