AZE.US
In Azerbaijan, taking a wife’s surname at marriage remains an uncommon choice for men, but it is still happening every year.
According to information provided by the Justice Ministry in response to a query from Report, six men took their wives’ surnames during the first three months of 2026.
The ministry also said that 54 men did so in 2025, compared with 62 in 2024 and 109 in 2023.
The numbers are small against the overall number of marriages in the country. Even so, they show that for some couples, the question of surname is no longer treated as something fixed by old convention.
The reasons can vary. In some cases, it may come down to convenience. A wife’s surname may be shorter, easier to use in daily life, or more practical for documents. In other cases, the choice may be linked to family considerations, professional recognition, or a desire to preserve a surname already associated with a known family or public identity.
There may also be more personal motives behind such decisions. Some men may not want to carry forward their own family name because of strained family ties, painful associations, or a wish to distance themselves from the past. For others, it may simply be a conscious decision within the marriage itself, reflecting the couple’s own understanding rather than social expectation.
In Azerbaijani society, the long-standing norm has usually been the opposite, with women expected to take the husband’s surname after marriage. That is one reason such cases still attract attention, even when the numbers remain limited.
At the same time, the recent figures suggest the trend is not growing. The number fell from 109 in 2023 to 54 in 2025. Still, the fact that dozens of men continue to make that choice shows that even in an area shaped heavily by tradition, personal preference is becoming more visible.