Family name: each spouse keeps their own, a shared name is a choice
Updated on October 24, 2026
Article 160 of the Civil Code provides that each spouse keeps their name. The fiancés may declare to the registrar that they will bear a shared family name. That name is the unmarried name of one or the other at the time of the declaration. The spouse who changes name may place their previous name in front. The child's name follows the rules on parentage. The declaration is made during the preparatory procedure, not afterwards by a note to an employer.
What the code says
After divorce, the spouse who changed name may declare to the registrar that they resume their unmarried name. The right is personal. It does not by itself change a child's name already registered.