I came across this after following a myriad of links while surfing t'internet [so I can't remember what kicked it off]. I hadn't really given much thought to who took the first step in this and I had never heard of Lucy Stone. It would be interesting to know how many women no longer take their partners surname - and what the trend is in civil partnerships...
Actually, it was always Scottish tradition that women married but kept their maiden name. There is a wee portrait in the Burrell of a famous 18th C (i think) female calligrapher explaining why she has her maiden name still. It was Victorian Britain that changed it. It's why in many communities still, espcially rural ones in Scotland, you'll hear women talk about their contemporaries still with their maiden name. There's a dissertation in this I'm sure!
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