Ms. Thalheim (a dentist) and Mr. Kunz-Hallstein (a lawyer) cannot become Mr. & Mrs. Thalheim-Kunz-Hallstein according to a 1993 law that was upheld by Germany’s highest court Tuesday. The couple wanted to share a surname, while each maintaining professional names. They believe the law violated their right to free choice and could be damaging their careers, but the court thinks a triple-barrelled name is confusing and makes it difficult to trace family lineage. The AP reports:
The Karlsruhe-based Federal Constitutional Court rejected their claim, ruling the law exists to prevent clunky “name chains,” while still allowing couples to decide for themselves which last name, or two-name combination, they wish to take on.
“This addresses the wish to create names that are viable in legal and business dealings, while at the same time do not lead to name chains in later generations,” the court wrote.
In a telephone interview with the New York Times, the couple’s lawyer, Rüdiger Zuck, said his clients had no comment on the ruling, but added, with what sounded distinctly like a note of resignation, “The Germans are old-fashioned.”
Boo! I wouldn’t choose a triple-barrelled name for myself, but this couple has a good reason for doing so. Names should definitely be a matter of personal choice.
No comments yet
Comments feed for this article