Last names revisited

Isosisko writes about changing last names when getting married:

"Miksi miehet ottavat vaimonsa sukunimen harvemmin kuin naiset miehen sukunimen? Miksi kukaan ylipäätään vaihtaa sukunimeään avioituessaan?" ("Why do men take their wife's name less often than women take their husband's name? Why does anyone change theis last name at all when they get married?")

The answers are:

1. The custom of the husband taking the wife's name has not caught on much for precisely the same reason why the custom of the wife taking the husband's name would not have caught on if it had appeared just now: there is not much use in name change unless such change has some emotional value for the person doing the changing.

2. Beats me: probably some quaint local custom. :)

Not coming from a background where women changed their names, it has never been an issue to me - I'd never even consider changing my last name. When I first heard (sometime in 1993) that until 1986 Finland had a law requiring women to change their last name when getting married it had a considerble shock value to me - much like if somebody had told me that until 1986 Finns lived in caves and had no indoor plumbing or electricity.