South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that a law barring husbands from taking their wife’s family name or hyphenating both spouses’ surnames is unconstitutional, ordering lawmakers to amend the statute within two years.
The court found that the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1992 — enacted during the apartheid era — discriminates on the basis of gender by allowing only a woman to change her family name when her marital status changes. The decision upholds a lower-court ruling from September that had already struck down the law as discriminatory.
The ruling stemmed from a 2024 challenge brought by two couples: Andreas Nicolaas Bornman and Jess Donnelly-Bornman, who sought to hyphenate both surnames, and Henry van der Merwe, who wanted to take his wife Jana Jordaan’s family name. A lower court had found in favor of the couples, and the Constitutional Court on Thursday affirmed that the current law was unfair.
Justice Loena Theron said the provision in question treated people differently "based on gender" and that the requirement to permit only women to change their names when married violated constitutional equality protections. The court gave Parliament and President Cyril Ramaphosa up to two years to correct the statutory language.
Legal experts said the ruling removes a formal barrier that had prevented husbands from adopting their wives’ surnames or both spouses from using a hyphenated combination, though administrative and registration procedures will depend on the amendments lawmakers enact.
The decision drew mixed reactions on social media and in public commentary. Some users welcomed it as a progressive step toward gender equality and noted it could help preserve rare family names. Others criticized it as undermining tradition, with at least one post on X arguing the change would "destroy the norms and values" of Black Indigenous Africans.
South Africa has previously expanded family and marriage rights in ways that diverge from older customary and statutory practices. The country became the first on the continent to legalize same-sex marriage in 2006, and both partners in such unions may choose a surname. South African law also recognizes polygamous marriages in connection with certain customary practices.
The government will now need to draft amendments to the Births and Deaths Registration Act to allow husbands to change their surnames on registration documents and to provide a mechanism for couples who wish to hyphenate. How Parliament revises the law and whether the two-year deadline will require interim administrative guidance remains to be seen.
The Constitutional Court’s order aligns the law with constitutional protections against gender discrimination and expands surname choice for married couples across South Africa as lawmakers prepare the necessary legislative changes.