Why do married women take their husband’s last name?

Question

Why do married women take their husband’s last name?

In: 7

Answer 1

Tradition for the most part. Men were seen as heads of the household and family, women existed primarily to bear and raise children and in varying cultures were sometimes/often treated somewhat like property. So changing last names to match the husband both signified a kind of ownership, was a sign of unity for the couple (of course, invariably the woman changing to unite with the man), and kept everyone in the household and family with the last name.