The South Forgets Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Do highborn brides take on the house name of their husband in Westeros? We see Catelyn and Lysa being alternatively being referred as Tully and Stark/Arryn, Elia Martell, Margaery Tyrell, and Cersei Lannister retaining their maiden names, and Barbrey Ryswell and Alerie Hightower being known as Dustin and Tyrell respectively Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMIFairy Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 This is covered by the wiki article - not sure if the book or TV wiki ... As you have noticed the best answer to your question is - "it varies". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unacosamedarisa Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Depends on the bride, her House, her husband, and his House. There's no single rule that must be followed in every situation... each situation is different. I think the usual course is for the bride to adopt her husband's name, but it doesn't happen 100% of the time. GRRM says this... Quote Maege Mormont is called Mormont because no one knows her husband's name, or even if she has one. There is all the talk that she beds with a bear. She prefers to keep her own counsel. Most of the ladies of Westeros do change their names when they wed, although usage varies. If the wife's family is significantly higher born than the husband's, she may use his name little, if at all. http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/SF_Targaryens_Valyria_Sansa_Martells_and_More Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deepbollywood Motte Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I always got the idea that the wife of a ruler (lord, landed knight ect.) got the right to use the family name, like Catelyn is lady Stark. Any future wife of Robb would be lady Stark as soon he became lord of Winterfell but any wife of Bran would retain her maidenname. Queens are a bit off here though, they seem to not be called Targaryen or Baratheon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaedys Targaryen Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 4 minutes ago, Deepbollywood Motte said: I always got the idea that the wife of a ruler (lord, landed knight ect.) got the right to use the family name, like Catelyn is lady Stark. Any future wife of Robb would be lady Stark as soon he became lord of Winterfell but any wife of Bran would retain her maidenname. Queens are a bit off here though, they seem to not be called Targaryen or Baratheon. I think that has to do with being born into the royal family; most queens were born Targaryens, but the women who married a Targaryen, like Alicent Hightower and Aemma Arryn, retained their maidenname because they did not have the right to have their royal husband's last name. As for the thing you said before the bolded part, there is no evidence whatsoever that the wives of a lord's younger brothers do not have the right to their husband's last name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferocious Veldt Roarer Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 24 minutes ago, Deepbollywood Motte said: I always got the idea that the wife of a ruler (lord, landed knight ect.) got the right to use the family name, like Catelyn is lady Stark. Any future wife of Robb would be lady Stark as soon he became lord of Winterfell but any wife of Bran would retain her maidenname. Queens are a bit off here though, they seem to not be called Targaryen or Baratheon. In real world, that's often the case as well. I seriously can't think of a single queen consort that is known (OK, known to me) by her royal husband's family name. If she has anything resembling a surname, then it's after her own house/country/compatible. Anne of Austria. Catherine of Aragon. Anne Boleyn. Marie de Medici. Etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lollygag Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I think they do whichever lends more power to the family. Cersei remaining Lannister reminds everyone that it’s not just Robert that they have to contend with, but Tywin as well. On the flip side, the Tullys didn’t really add much to the Starks in peacetime except maybe make them seem fractured, but notice once war starts with the Lannisters, Catelyn begins to take on Tully again as it's now more significant than before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orphalesion Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 In a royal match it might also be in the interest of the bride's family to have her continue to use the name, in order to let everyone know that they are now associated with the crown by marriage, or have so in the past. In our past it also had to do with historical identification, Kings (and Queens regnant) of the same name are distinguished by the numbering "Henry I", "Henry II", "Henry III"/"Elizabet I" "Elizabeth II" etc. Queen consorts don't get that numbering so their last names and/or places of origin are kept in the record to distinguish them, like "Anne Boleyn" and "Anne of Cleves" or "Catherine of Aragon", "Catherine Howard" and "Catherine Parr" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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