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The pending nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have royal watchers brushing up on royal naming practices and asking ‘what’s in a name?’

Men are perceived as powerless and less masculine if their wives choose not to take their surnames after marriage.

"I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride... etc and so forth." This is followed shortly after by the MC announcing the newly married couple, "Now, introducing for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Smith..."

If women do not take their husband's surname, it is sometimes perceived as "disempowering" the husband.

While taking their husband's surname was once the norm, women are increasingly choosing to keep their maiden name after marriage.

Once upon a time it was considered custom for women to take their husband’s name after marrying.

Visiting my family in the Midwest over Thanksgiving, I returned to a topic that’s become very familiar ever since I became engaged a little more than a year ago: Whether I plan to change my last name after I get married.

New research published in the journal Sex Roles examined how women who choose to keep their own surname after marriage are perceived in the United States.