At the same time it’s become increasingly popular for women to preserve their maiden names.

According to the Population Register Centre, last year just around 24 percent of couples maintained their original names after wedlock. In spite of this, nearly seventy percent of couples choose the man’s name as the family name.

Rauno Partanen, head of the Häme registry office said that locally, the relatively recent practice of taking the bride’s name as the family name has been rare.

“When the new naming legislation came into force allowing men to change their surnames, there were a few cases. Nowadays I don’t even remember when last that was the case,” he explained.

“Last year there were there no remarkable changes in name adoptions. Annually there are roughly 120 applications for name changes at the Hämeenlinna registry office,” Partanen added.

Changes in Christian names have also remained more or less constant over the years. Changes in given names may be accomplished by applying to the local registry office. And in cases where the change is made for the first time, it’s sufficient to notify the authorities of the change.