Spouses’ Surnames

How may engaged persons arrange their surnames?

Choice of a common surname

Engaged persons may choose the surname of one of them as their common surname or family surname. In accordance with the principle of equality between men and women, this surname may be either the husband’s surname or the wife’s surname. It may not, however, be the surname of a third person. The chosen family surname will also be borne by their common children.

If one of the engaged persons has a double-barrelled surname, the engaged persons may also decide that this double-barrelled surname will become their common surname.

Both retain their surnames

The engaged persons may also each retain their own surname. In that case, however, they must agree on which surname their common children will bear. The surname chosen in this way will be borne by all of their common children. It is therefore not possible to choose one surname for some children and another surname for others. The choice also applies to common children born before the marriage was concluded.

The spouses may, however, at any time subsequently choose a common surname, that is, a family surname. If they choose as their common surname the surname of the spouse whose surname the common children have not previously borne, the children’s surname is changed by operation of law to the family surname.

Choice of a common surname with the addition of the previous surname

The third option is that the engaged persons choose the surname of one of them as their common, or family, surname, which will also be borne by their common children, and the other spouse will add his or her previous surname to the common surname. This is known as an attached surname. The common surname will always appear first, and the former surname second. The order is prescribed by law.

Example: The groom’s name is Jan Pospíšil and the bride’s name is Alena Pomalá. They choose the groom’s surname as their common surname, that is, Pospíšil/Pospíšilová. The bride, however, decides to add her previous surname after the common surname. Her name will therefore be Alena Pospíšilová Pomalá.

The law lays down certain rules in order to prevent the chaining of surnames:

Where the engaged person whose surname has not been chosen as the common surname already has an attached surname, that engaged person may choose to attach only his or her first surname, that is, the surname which was the common surname in his or her previous marriage.

Example: The groom’s name is Aleš Velký and the bride’s name is Jana Zelená Nováková, this being an attached surname. The surname Zelená is the surname of her former husband and was chosen by them as their common surname. The engaged persons choose the groom’s surname as their common surname, that is, Velký/Velká. If the bride wishes to attach her previous surname after the common surname, she may do so only in respect of the surname which was the common surname in her previous marriage. She may therefore be Jana Velká Zelená.

If the engaged person whose surname is to become the common surname already has an attached surname, the other engaged person may not attach his or her own surname after that “double” common surname.

Example: The groom’s name is Aleš Malý and the bride’s name is Jana Zelená Nováková, this being an attached surname. The surname Zelená is the surname of her former husband and was chosen by them as their common surname. The engaged persons choose the bride’s surname as their common surname, that is, Zelená Nováková/Zelený Novák. The groom may not have his previous surname entered after the common surname; he therefore cannot have a “triple surname” such as Aleš Zelený Novák Malý.

However, this restriction does not apply where a person has a double surname by birth, that is, a surname acquired otherwise than through marriage. The restriction applies only to an attached surname. For example, if a man has had the surname Novák Blažek from birth and this surname is to be declared as the common surname upon his marriage, it is theoretically not excluded that the bride may declare that she will attach her previous surname after that common surname.

When must the engaged persons reach an agreement?

The engaged persons must reach an agreement on the issue of surnames no later than during the pre-marital procedure. In the case of a civil marriage, they then make the declaration concerning their surnames directly during the ceremony. In the case of a church marriage, for example in the Roman Catholic Church, the declaration is not part of the ceremony, and therefore the agreement must already be secured during the pre-marital procedure.

Subsequent changes of surname during the marriage

If the spouses have a common surname, a change of surname is possible in particular where the surname is ridiculous or offensive, or where there is a serious reason for the change. The change may be permitted only with the consent of both spouses, and it applies to both spouses and to their common children. If the common children are over fifteen years of age, their consent to the change is also required.

If the spouses have different surnames, a change may be made only to the surname of one of them. The spouse whose surname is to become the common surname must also give consent to the change.

Feminine forms of surnames

Women’s surnames are formed in accordance with the rules of Czech grammar. However, at the request of a woman, the surname that she will use after entering into marriage may be entered in the register in the masculine form.

With effect from 1 January 2022, the conditions previously required for the entry of a surname in the masculine form ceased to apply. Previously, this was possible only where the woman was a foreign national; a Czech citizen who has or will have permanent residence abroad; a Czech citizen whose husband or registered partner is a foreign national; or a Czech citizen of a nationality other than Czech.

Surname of a divorced spouse

If a spouse adopted the surname of the other spouse, he or she may, within six months of the divorce, notify the registry office that he or she is resuming his or her previous surname. The same applies where the surname of the other spouse was adopted as the common surname and the spouse attached his or her previous surname in second place: that spouse may notify the registry office that he or she will henceforth use only his or her previous surname.

This is a unilateral decision by the divorced spouse to return to an earlier surname. The other spouse, whose surname was the common surname, has no legal means to compel the former spouse to change the surname, nor to prevent the change. The registry office does not decide on the change; it merely takes note of the notification.