Why I took my wife's last name

These days many women keep their own name when they marry, and couples are increasingly opting for a double-barrelled or merged name. But men who take their wife's surname are still quite rare. Kirstie Brewer spoke to three.

Rory, a primary school teacher from south-east London, left for the summer holidays in 2016 as Mr Cook and returned to start the new school year as Mr Dearlove. It caused some confusion among his class of seven and eight-year-olds. A few female teachers had changed their last names when they got married - but never a man.

"Why did you change your name Mr Dearlove?" asked one of the girls in his class, while Rory was on playground duty. "Because I got married. Look!" said Rory, showing the child his wedding ring. "But why?" she insisted.

"Because when you get married you can choose what name you want. You can keep your name, or both have the same name, or make a new name. I chose my wife's name, Dearlove," Rory explained.

"The stuff children see at school they accept as normal - changing my surname was a good chance to give them new ideas," says Rory, who met his wife Lucy on dating app Tinder four years ago.

Changing his surname to Lucy's wasn't a difficult decision for Rory to make. "I wasn't massively attached to the name Cook and it doesn't make any difference to me for work," he says. He didn't mind being the one to have to practise a new signature. "I thought it would be nice for us to have the same last name, and I think Dearlove is a better one."