Marital laws in the majority of states currently limit or impose significant obstacles for men seeking to change their surname upon marriage, unequal to laws regarding women who change their surname change. Women currently have the right to sign a marriage license and take their husband's name or some combination name. In contrast, only nine states provide men with the same opportunity. In the remaining states, men usually must apply for a formal name change in order to legally take their wives’ surname. This process requires paying a substantial court filing fee, dealing with drawn out court proceedings and, in some cases, being required to post in newspapers personal information (such as financial information) as well as the petition to change one's name. This Note argues that it is unconstitutional for states to have unequal procedures for men and women to change their surnames upon marriage, resulting in a violation of men's equal protection rights; thus, states can avoid a judicial decision that the current name change statute is unconstitutional by simply equalizing the standard, making it gender neutral. Key Points for the Family Court Community Women have the statutory right to either change their last name upon marriage or retain their maiden name in all fifty states Men are provided the same procedure as women to change their surname upon marriage in only nine states The process for men to change their surname upon marriage in the majority of states can be time consuming, expensive and, when all is said and done, a judge usually has unlimited discretion to decide such matters Men typically must adhere to formal name change procedures to change their surname after marriage, primarily by petitioning the court The issue is that it is unconstitutional for states to have unequal procedures for men and women to change their surname upon marriage in violation of husbands’ equal protection rights Courts should strike down statutes that discriminate against men changing their surname upon marriage or extend to men the same rights women currently have in all states