Published — January 2, 2021
The following post does not create a lawyer-client relationship between Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices (or any of its lawyers) and the reader. It is still best for you to engage the services of your own lawyer to address your legal concerns, if any.
Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
Read also: Frequently Asked Questions on Annulment and Declaration of Nullity of Marriage
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A married woman may use her maiden first name and surname and add her husband’s surname.
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A married woman may use her maiden first name and her husband’s surname.
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A married woman may use Her husband’s full name, but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as “Mrs.”
What names may a married woman use after getting married?
New Civil Code provides that:
A married woman may use:
- Her maiden first name and surname and add her husband’s surname; or
- Her maiden first name and her husband’s surname; or
- Her husband’s full name, but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as “Mrs.”
The law provides for alternatives on the part of the woman when she gets married. It is not mandatory for a woman to use the surname of her husband.
In the case Remo vs Secretary of Foreign Affairs (G.R. No. 169202 March 5, 2010),the Supreme Court explained that, a woman is “allowed to use not only any of the three names provided in Article 370, but also her maiden name upon marriage. She is not prohibited from continuously using her maiden name once she is married because when a woman marries, she does not change her name but only her civil status. Further, this interpretation is in consonance with the principle that surnames indicate descent.”
However, once a married woman opted to adopt her husband’s surname in her passport, she may not revert to the use of her maiden name, except in the cases enumerated in Section 5(d) of Republic Act 8239 (“Philippine Passport Act of 1996”). These instances are: (1) death of husband, (2) divorce, (3) annulment, or (4) nullity of marriage. Since petitioner’s marriage to her husband subsists, she may not resume her maiden name in the replacement passport. Otherwise stated, a married woman’s reversion to the use of her maiden name must be based only on the severance of the marriage.
Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/0917-5772207.
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