Social norms and intentions to adopt double surnames in Italy: evidence from two survey experiments

The custom of transmitting only the paternal surname to children remains widespread in most patrilineal societies. Given how societal emphasis on gender equality has increased in other societal domains in recent decades (e.g. employment, wages, domestic chores), the question of why parents refrain from adopting more egalitarian surname practices (such as double surnames) presents a compelling sociological puzzle. This article aims to address this issue by investigating to what extent social norms shape the propensity to give children both parents’ surnames (i.e., a double surname) in Italy, where, since a 2022 ruling by the Constitutional Court, children are allowed to take a double surname unless the parents agree otherwise. Using two survey experiments, with Italian online quota samples, respondents were randomly assigned to one of four hypothetical scenarios designed to manipulate their empirical and normative expectations. Results from the first experiment indicate that empirical expectations have a stronger influence than normative ones. The second experiment confirms this but shows that the effect depends on the reference network considered. These findings highlight the importance of changing empirical expectations to encourage the adoption of the double surname, ultimately promoting greater gender equality in family naming practices.