2.9 Acquisition of the Surname

The general rule: a person acquires the father's surname by birth (the paternal-line principle of the old bansha logic); On marriage: the wife may acquire the husband's surname (the Code permits; it does not compel — the equality-era reading); The child's surname: father's surname as the default; the mother's surname recognized in defined circumstances (the unmarried mother's line; the equality reading of Art 38(1) — equal lineage works both directions: the daughter's child can take her lineage); Adoption: the adopted child acquires the adoptive family's surname (Unit 7).