marriages & maiden names?

It's an old tradition, dating back to when women were little more than property and we had limited rights. A lot of younger couples are opting out of it. A girl can keep her maiden name, a man can take his wife's name, or you can even combine your names to have a new one.
Most women who have changed their names upon marriage will change it back if they get divorced, although they don't have to. Who would want that reminder of a failed marriage?
As to the process, it probably varies from country to country, but you start with the social security office and your driver's license. I can't remember which you do first (I think it's SS, but it may be one of those where one requires the other), but you take your marriage license, SS card and ID (you have to prove who you are to change your name) and fill out some forms. There might be a fee. Marriage is a common reason, so you don't have to go before a judge like you do for other name changes. Once you've got your new SS card and photo ID, then you start notifying all the businesses and banks and whatnot that you work with to get your new name listed on your accounts. The banks will probably want to see the marriage license. Paypal actually requires you to fax in documentation, which is why my maiden name is still on my paypal account, almost 12 years after getting married (I opted for the name change because no one could pronounce or spell my maiden name and my husband's name is fairly common. Although people still misspell it left and right, which really annoys me. It's an easy one).

It can be the other way around, but that rarely happens. It all started when women were treated as property. By taking the husbands surname, everyone knew who she belonged to. We do it today for several reasons. One, tradition. Two, it makes record keeping easy. And three, it is better if future children, mom, and dad all have the same name.

It's a choice. In the US, you can take the name or not, he can take your name or not, you can hyphenate the names, or you can both choose a NEW name (have friends that did this).

It tradition - Not law!
What you & your spouse choose is up to you - there are many variations/possibilities.
I kept my maiden name & our children have my surname - my husband kept his name.. this worked for us = there are no "rules"!

if i were married i would keep my maiden name.. that way if i were to get a divorce, i would not have to change everything back to my maiden name. it is ok to keep your maiden name

It's tradition. It's an honor for the man that the woman has joined family with him, and the man realizes his new responsibility. I was shocked seeing all the "when men owned women" responses. It's also in the Bible.

It used to be dictated by law. The only way a family could extend members with the families name was through the boys.

Nowadays it doesnt matter by law but most men still dont wanna let go of that outdated privilege.

On Iceland, girls always get the mothers last name and boys the fathers last name.

In skandinavia your last name was your fathers first name + son or your mothers first name + dotter.
Lateron the modern model was used and the last name if the father remained the one for that family.

In Holland at some point in time, your job became your last name if you were lower class and the name of the area you owned became your last name if you were land lord or royalty, with the word "Van" ( meaning "from") in between.

In some muslim countries your last name is a full list of your connection to people of influence. Knowing your identification by heart often makes the difference between being robbed and assaulted or treated like family by passers by.

The marriage involved the woman passing from living under the authority of her father to living under the authority of her husband. The assumption of a new surname signified this change.

in modern world if u don't want to change your surname u don't need to. if u decide to do that u go to magistrate and fill out a form and pay a small fee. if u get divorced it is your choice whether u want to change your surname or not. it might get expensive and bothersome because u have to change all id and bank cards and insurance cards and for some u need to pay. for that reason i didn't change my surname back when i got divorced. and after i got second time married i changed my surname a year or two after. also if u want to change your surname or name u don't need to get married - u may change it any time u want for whatever name u want

Traditionally a man takes a woman to be his wife and she used to be his property from thenn on