According to the Church, what surname can I give my child?

[xixxvmcm85]

Does the Church mind if Catholic families pass on surnames in an untraditional manner?

For example.

Can a devoutly Catholic family endow the children with the mother’s surname?
Can a Catholic man take his wife’s surname after marriage?
Can a Catholic family form a hyphenated surname consisting of both names?
Can a Catholic family create a completely novel surname in order to avoid these issues?

OR

Does the Church insist that Catholic families follow the paternalistic system that Western Civilization has taken in the last 800 years or so?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Can a devoutly Catholic family endow the children with the mother’s surname?
Can a Catholic man take his wife’s surname after marriage?
Can a Catholic family form a hyphenated surname consisting of both names?
Can a Catholic family create a completely novel surname in order to avoid these issues?

Yes, to all of the above.

xixxvmcm85:

Does the Church insist that Catholic families follow the paternalistic system that Western Civilization has taken in the last 800 years or so?

The Church doesn’t care what surname a family takes, and, for that matter, not all Western countries have followed a strictly paternal-nomenclature system (see link below), but the implication here is that there is something wrong with a paternal-nomenclature system.

Paternal-nomenclature systems have two advantages. One, they’re common and thus avoid significant confusion and the possibility of scandal. Two, they symbolize that the father is the spiritual head of the newly-created family. While variants of the traditional paternalistic system are perfectly allowable, Catholics need not cast aspersion on traditional forms.

Recommended reading:

Maiden names