This has always struck me as being odd. My wife is very strong willed person. And likewise my daughter and daughter-in-law. But each of them changed their names immediately they got married. Interesting figures from here:
Why do women still change their names?
'In the US, most women adopt their husband’s family name when they get married – around 70%, according to
one of the largest data analyses in recent years. For British women, the figure is almost 90%, according to a 2016 survey, with around 85% of those aged between 18 and 30 saying they still follow the practice.
Much of western Europe also follows the same pattern (notable exceptions include
Spain and
Iceland, where women tend to keep their birth names when they marry, and
Greece, which has made it a legal requirement for wives to retain their names for life since 1983). Even in
Norway, which is regularly ranked
one of the top countries for gender equality and has a less overtly patriarchal history, the majority of married women still take their husband’s name. There, however,
around half of name-takers keep their maiden name as a middle name, which functions as a secondary surname.'