Published: September 12, 2025 10:55 am
Author: RT
The country’s Constitutional Court has granted men the right to take their wife’s surname upon marriage
South African husbands are now legally entitled to adopt their wives’ surnames – a right previously denied under civil registration laws – the country’s Constitutional Court has found, in a ruling described as ‘historic’ in local media.
In the decision issued on Thursday, Justice Leona Theron found that the prevailing legal framework imposed outdated colonial values and reinforced patriarchal assumptions.
According the Citizen outlet, Justice Theron stated that the tradition of women taking their husbands’ surnames stems from a “a colonial import rooted in patriarchal norms where women were seen as legally inferior to their husbands and expected to assume their identity.”
In her decision Theron noted that the law’s failure to offer men the same right constituted unfair gender-based discrimination. The court suspended the declaration for 24 months, granting Parliament time to amend the legislation or introduce a new framework.
The court’s judgment followed a legal challenge brought earlier this year by two South African couples: Jana Jordaan and Henry Van Der Merwe, and Jess Donnelly-Bornman and Andreas Nicolas Bornman.
— Constitutional Court (@ConCourtSA) September 11, 2025
According to reporting by News24, applicant Henry Van Der Merwe had been entirely blocked from assuming the surname of his wife, Jana Jordaan, despite the couple mutually agreeing on the change prior to their marriage. In a similar case, Andreas Bornman was denied permission by the Department of Home Affairs to hyphenate his surname to include that of his wife, Jess Donnelly.
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There are generally no prohibitions preventing husbands from taking their wives’ surnames across Africa. For example, in Kenya, the law allows any adult to change their name for any reason through a gender-neutral process involving a deed poll. In Nigeria, name changes are also done via deed poll. In Zimbabwe, a notarial deed of change of name and gazette publication is required. The exception is North Africa, where countries like Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt do not provide for surname changes through marriage at all, spouses must retain their birth names, and any alteration requires a separate judicial or administrative procedure.
