<P> In the remainder of this article, birth name, family name, surname, married name and maiden name refer to patrilineal surnames unless explicitly described as referring to matrilineal surnames . </P> <P> In most of Canada, either partner may informally assume the spouse's surname after marriage, so long as it is not for the purposes of fraud . The same is true for people in common - law relationships, in some provinces . This is not considered a legal name change in most provinces, excluding British Columbia . For federal purposes, such as a Canadian passport, Canadians may also assume their partner's surname if they are in a common - law relationship . In the province of British Columbia, people have to undergo a legal name change if they want to use a combined surname after marriage . Their marriage certificate is considered proof of their new name . </P> <P> The custom in Québec was similar to the one in France until 1981 . Women would traditionally go by their husbands' surname in daily life, but their maiden name remained their legal name . Since the passage of a 1981 provincial law intended to promote gender equality as outlined in the Québec Charter of Rights, no change may be made to a person's name without the authorization of the registrar of civil status or the authorization of the court . Newlyweds who wish to change their names upon marriage must therefore go through the same procedure as those changing their names for other reasons . The registrar of civil status may authorize a name change if: 1) the name the person generally uses does not correspond to the name on their birth certificate, 2) the name is of foreign origin or too difficult to pronounce or write in its original form, or 3) the name invites ridicule or has become infamous . This law does not make it legal for a woman to immediately change her name upon marriage, as marriage is not listed among the reasons for a name change . </P> <P> For many, the decision whether to keep or change their birth name is a difficult one . This process is expedited for newly married persons in that their marriage certificate, in combination with identification using their married name, is usually accepted as evidence of the change, due to the widespread custom, but the process still requires approaching every contact who uses the old name and asking them to use the new . Unless the statutes where the marriage occurred specify that a name change may occur at marriage (in which case the marriage certificate indicates the new name), the courts have officially recognized that such a change is a result of the common law right of a person (man, woman, and sometimes child) to change their name . However, men encounter more difficulties in changing their last names . There were some early cases which held that under the common law, a woman was required (in the U.S.) to take her husband's name, but newer cases overturned those . Women do not have to change their names by law . </P>

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