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.