1921 May 17

Women Should Keep their Own Names: Lucy Stone League Formed

 

The Lucy Stone League, founded on this day, was committed to the principle that women can choose to keep their own names when they marry.

Lucy Stone (1818–1853) was reportedly the first woman in the United States to keep her name after marrying.

The League faded away in the late 1930s, was revived in 1950, and after fading away again was revived again in 1997.

On October 12, 2007, the Governor of California signed into law the state Name Equality Act, which provided that “One or both parties to a marriage may elect to change the middle and/or last name by which that party wishes to be known . . . .”

Lucy Stone: “A wife should no more take her husband’s name than he should hers. My name is my identity and must not be lost.”

Learn more about Lucy Stone, Sally Gregory McMillen, Lucy Stone: An Unapologetic Life ( 2015)

And more:  http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ww/stone.html

And more: https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/lucy-stone/

And more about the Lucy Stone League: https://web.archive.org/web/20130602222708/http://lucystoneleague.org/

Learn about the 2007 California Name Equality Act

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