I. Introduction

A name is a very important intangible property of a human being. It is a word which an entity is designated or distinguished from others. A name of a person is composed of three names which are first name or given name, middle name and surname. Of these three names the first name and the surname, are the ones given importance. The middle name is overlooked since the society tends to recognize us only in our surname not in our middle names. Each person has different or same given names but what differs from each person is their surname.
A surname is not just a name per se; it is a word that separates you from the rest. A name describes at first thought, a person’s reputation, honor, distinction and power. Take for example the surname Ayala; in our country this name is very prominent. You will assume without hesitation, that the person is rich, mestiza and powerful if their surname is Ayala. That is the power of a name it does not only distinguish someone by the characters or the letters of the word, it also gives a little background about the person.



History of surname
In the earlier times, surnames have not yet existed. At that time only first names have existed. But there were three ways of distinguishing a person back then, the first one is attaching your place of birth to the first name, like Jesus of Nazareth. The second one is through attaching the name of the person’s father in his name, for example James Son of Zebedee. The third one is attaching a short description of the person in the name such as John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, etc. This custom lasted for a long time.
The concept of having a surname came into existence in feudal times or Middle Ages. Rich, noble families decided that the head of the family should attach the name of their estate to their names to give value and distinction to their family. If the Head of the family’s name is Jerome and the estates name is Villa Kantos, it will result to Jerome Villakantos. Later on younger sons also use the name of their estate and eventually it became hereditary. The bourgeoisie copied what the nobility did and soon it became a trend that even the poor started using surnames.



Adversity of Women
Even in the aspect of names, women have been discriminated since time memorial. In the Old Testament the primary function of marriage was for the continuation of the husband’s clan. People assumed if the wife bore a son, that’s a blessing from God. In the New Testament, checking the identity and genealogy of a person is patrilineal. In Luke 3:23-25, Jesus lineage was demonstrated:
23Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melki, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,

In the Middle Ages the use of surname was introduced but it was not until the 18th century that the practice of a woman taking his husband’s surname rather than hers after the consummation of marriage came to existence. Women must wield their surname to men because men are the ones responsible in bringing home the bacon to their homes unlike women who are raised for the purposes of taking care of the house and the children.


The British rich families introduced the double barreled surnames, in order to preserve the surnames of both spouses hailing from rich families. The wife’s surname is attached with the husband’s surname in a hyphenated form. This practice was also common in Spain; their children will also have the combined surname of their parents. But it is stressed that the last name, which is the paternal name, is the one of importance. That is why people tend to just choose using their paternal surname rather than having a double barreled surname.
The custom of matrilineal surname existed only in few parts of the world, particularly the native North Americans. Since Britain, Spain and Portugal explored and conquered the world their customs where adapted by their colonies.
In the Philippines before the Spainiards’ arrival, this was not the case. There were some parts in the Tagalog regions where it’s neither patrilineal nor matrilineal. The party which is more distinguished is the one whose surname will be used by the spouses. The women back then have the right to maintain their maiden name also.


Spain’s arrival marked the beginning of the discrimination of women in the Philippines. Some of pre-colonial rights of women were stripped off. Being a colony for 300 years, the Filipinos grew accustomed to Spanish traditions and with the influence of the Church, patriarchal structure in the society prevailed. It has been the common trend up to now, for the husband’s surname to be used by the woman once married. It’s likened to acquisition of property by the husband.

II. Critique
In order to achieve equality, both man and woman must have equal rights and not one of them having leverage over the other. In pursuant to that Article 370 of the New Civil Code addresses the concerns of women regarding the change of surname after marriage.
Although this law has existed for a long time already, few women today are using their own surnames. Many still follow the old custom of taking their husband’s surname. Although a maiden is not limited only to that, according to Article 370 of the New Civil Code which reads:
Art. 370 - A married woman may use:
(1) Her maiden first name and surname and add her husband's surname, or (2) Her maiden first name and her husband's surname or (3) Her husband's full name, but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as "Mrs."
The use of words in the above mentioned article is not clear and concise. A simple glance of it may let others assume that this is the only choices that a maiden can have. The sentence construction of Article 370 causes ambiguity in its interpretation. Thus, the statute should be subjected to change for it to be more specific and clear.
According to Isagani Cruz broad, brief and definite are the essential qualities of a good written Constitution. All laws must conform to the Constitution. Also, it’s the guide for law makers in drafting and creating laws. Therefore a written statute must be broad, brief and definite also. It must be broad because it must be applicable not only now but for the future also and it must cover the entire persons living in the country. It must be brief; a written law must be easy, for it to be understood by anyone. Lastly it must be definite and clear so it cannot cause confusion to others. Laws must be read based on the words itself, no addition or subtraction. Having ambiguities in the words of law might be subjected to manipulation and abuse.
Article 370 of the New Civil Code lacks two of the essential qualities of a good written Constitution. It is not definite and brief; it causes confusion and cannot be easily understood. There should only be one interpretation to this law and that is, a maiden after marriage can choose to retain her maiden surname, aside from the three options enumerated by the Article. But there might be some people, that will interpret it such that, a woman is has only three options.
Foreign Laws governing the use of surname

Civil Law of Afghanistan Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania Turkish Civil Law Civil Law of Latvia


Article 38:
Any person may choose a family name in addition with his own name. The family name shall be transferred to the children.


Article 3.31:
Both spouses shall have the right to retain their respective surnames or to choose the surname of the other spouse as their common surname or to have a double surname by adjoining the surname of the other spouse to one’s own surname.


Article 173:
Upon entering marriage the wife is allowed to retain their maiden name, though must still adopt their husband’s name as well.

Article 86:

Upon entering into marriage, the spouses, pursuant to their wish, may select the premarital surname of one of the spouses as their common surname. During marriage, each spouse may retain his or her premarital surname and not assume a common marital surname. Upon entering into marriage, a spouse may add to his or her surname the surname of the other spouse.



German Civil Code Japanese Civil Code Marriage Law of the
People’s Republic of China
SEC 1355:
1) The married couple bear a joint family name (married name). 2) Upon entering their marriage the spouses may by way of declaration made before the Registrar, choose the name at birth of the husband, or the name at birth of the wife as their married name. If they make no choice, the married name is the name at birth of the husband. Name at birth is the name which is registered in the birth certificates of the engaged couple at the time of the marriage. 3) A spouse whose name at birth does not become the married name, can, by way of a declaration made before the Registrar, insert his name at birth or the name he bears at the time of the marriage before the married name; the declaration must be notarially authenticated. Article 750:

Husband and wife assume the surname of the husband or wife in accordance with the agreement made at the time of the marriage.
Article 10:
Both husband and wife shall have the right to use his or her own surname and given name.





Article 38 of Afghanistan Civil Law is clear that a person may choose a family name attached to his own name. In comparison to Article 370 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines, the former does not state any gender, it is for all persons. It is also confusing for it may be interpreted that anyone has an absolute freedom of choosing what family name they desire. The latter is addressed specifically to a woman entering marriage and it gives out three possible options.
Article 173 of Turkish Civil Law states: a woman must always have his husbands surname no matter what, giving her only two choices: to take her husband’s surname or retain their maiden surname but must still adopt the husbands surname. The Turkish Civil Law gives utmost importance to the husband’s surname. A woman has no choice but to bear it, even though she has two options. While Article 370 has given three options that all contain the husband’s surname, the woman may still retain her maiden surname without her husband’s surname.
The Japanese Civil Law clearly states on article 750 the married couple may either choose the husband’s surname or the wife’s surname depending on what’s agreed upon by the spouses. Article 750 lets the couple decide on which surname will they use; even the husband may have the surname of his wife. This right of choosing the surname for the family is not present in Article 370. There is no option where a husband will take his wife’s surname.
Under Article 10 of the Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China both spouses have the right to use their surname and given name. Article is another confusing and vague law, because it only states that they have the right to use their surname and given name even after marriage. It does not say whether the couple would have a common surname.
The remaining articles from the Civil Laws of Lithuania, German and Latvia states that both spouses have the right to retain both of their pre-marital surnames, opt to choose one of the spouses’ surnames as their common name or adjoin both of their surnames together. The Civil Laws of these countries are well constructed; it clearly gives equal rights to both man and woman. Also it does not limit the choices of the married couple.









III. Conclusion
A law must be understood by all persons and must not be confusing to others. It was created for everyone, not just for certain individuals, to make sure that there is no one above the law. Justice Isagani Cruz pointed out the qualities of a written constitution, that it must be applicable today and in the future, it must be easily read and understood and it must not be ambiguous. Along with this, the researcher believes that laws should also possess these qualities for the protection of the rights of the public.
We live in a society where it demands equality among all genders. Laws are created to protect the rights of both men and women. But it is undeniable and clearly evident that women are victims of oppression. Recent improvements in our laws paved way to address this by giving specific rights that apply to women on top of the laws that already exist.
Article 370 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines was instituted to provide married women choices or options with regards to what surname they will use. The article tried to offer women the freedom of choice. Despite this great effort from the lawmakers, they did not clearly state that a woman may retain her surname aside from the three options given.


This may show inequality among women, for it conveys that a woman has to submit to her husband and potentially lose her own identity. Even though the law vaguely gives women the right to retain their maiden surname, amending the law by clearly stating another option where she can retain her maiden surname, will still not achieve gender equality. Both spouses should have an option choosing which of their surnames would serve as their common marital surname

IV. Recommendation
The law should be revised by the legislators for it to be more concise, equal and simple. The law can be stated in a way, such as:
A married couple can choose among the following:
1) The husband and wife may retain his or her premarital surname and not assume a common marital surname; or
2) Both parties may have an agreement to use either of their surnames, to serve as their common marital surname; or
3) The wife’s surname is attached with the husband’s surname in a hyphenated form.

The researcher removed the option of using the husband’s full name but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as “Mrs.” , because that option is discriminatory for it removes the whole identity of the woman by not recognizing even her own given name.
The second option gives freedom not only to women but to men that they will have the right to choose which of their surnames they will use as a family name. This exhibits equal rights to both spouses.
The other option, the double-barreled surname, indicated in Article 370 was retained in case a woman still wants to honor her father’s surname at the same time accepting the surname of her husband.
Lastly the suggested amendment added the option that both spouses be given the right to retain their pre-marital names, without attaching or adjoining the other’s surname.