Natural Humanists acknowledge that, in most countries, tradition, or the law, dictates that all human beings take their father’s surname from birth, and that women traditionally lose their father’s surname when they get married, at which point they take their husband’s surname instead. They also acknowledge that, historically, surnames were often a symbol of men’s actual ‘legal ownership’, as property, of both their wives and their children.
Natural Humanists believe passionately in equality and freedom, and that every human being should be free to use any name they choose, rather than having to always use the names their family gave them, if they prefer not to. They acknowledge that the law, in many countries, now allows people this freedom, and gives them the right to change their name at any time, for any reason.
Some Natural Humanists believe that the tradition of taking a father’s or husband’s surname is no longer relevant in the modern world, but all Natural Humanists believe that every human being should be free to make up their own mind on this matter, with nobody ever being negatively judged, whatever their decision.
Natural Humanists consider themselves to be part of a global Natural Humanist family, as well as a member of their own biological family, so some may choose to lose their surname altogether, with their middle name then becoming their ‘surname’, by default.
Others may choose to take a new surname of their own choice, instead of, or in addition to their original surname, possibly choosing a name which reflects their Natural Humanist values and beliefs, for example, ‘Love’, ‘Hope’, ‘Peace’ or ‘Freedom’ and others may choose to take the same shared surname chosen by their partner, or by some or all of their polyamorous group, or by their own Natural Humanist Community.
Some Natural Humanists may choose to give this same new surname to their own children, until they’re old enough to choose whether they’d like to change it, which Natural Humanists believe is at the age when they become ‘Natural Adults’, when they first become biologically capable of creating new life. Others may choose to just give their children a first name and one or more ‘middle’ name, with the last ‘middle’ name becoming the child’s ‘default surname’ in any legal documents, and with the child then being free to choose any surname they wish later in their life, or to remain without a surname.
For some Natural Humanists, their decision is guided by the belief that all humans are part of one global family and also have historical evolutionary ‘family’ connections with most other species of living thing on Earth, with whom they’ll always share distant ancestral links, regardless of their surname.