In 2024, almost 7% of new births in Italy acquired a double surname from their parents, a figure that has almost tripled since 2020. This is what the latest Istat report on Birth rate and fertility of the resident population – year 2024 tells us, where it is reported that the share of births with a double surname has reached almost 7% of the total, up by more than four percentage points compared to 2020 when it stopped at 2%.
For centuries, in Italy, there was only one rule: the father’s surname. An automatism rooted not only in culture but also in law until 2016, when the Constitutional Court ruled that automatically attributing only the paternal surname is “discriminatory and detrimental to the identity of the child”. Since then, parents can choose: father’s surname, mother’s surname or both, in any order they prefer. In 2024, almost seven out of one hundred children born in Italy bear a double surname, that of their father and that of their mother. However, this choice is not homogeneous across the territory.
Istat data tell us that the choice of a double surname has now exceeded 8% of the data in Northern and Central Italy while in Southern Italy it stops at 6%. This difference also reflects the cultural and social variety of the country.
Those born to mixed couples or with at least one foreign parent are, for example, much more likely to receive a double surname. In particular, the highest probability is among children born to an Italian mother and a foreign father. But here too the picture is varied: among foreign and mixed couples, those of Latin origin (Spain, Portugal, Central and South America), almost 9 out of 10 choose a double surname. In fact, in many Spanish and Portuguese speaking states, the double surname is the rule, not the exception. A habit that these parents bring with them even when they move to Italy, thus contributing to the spread of the practice.
Then there is another interesting fact: the double surname is much more frequent among first-borns. In 2024 it concerns 9.2% of first children, compared to 4.7% of second children and just 3% of third or subsequent children. This difference is probably due to the fact that those who become parents for the first time have the opportunity to make a uniform choice for all their children. Those who already have other children, born before the sentence or when the practice was not yet widespread, may tend more to maintain the family coherence of the same surname for everyone.
Another element that emerges from the data is the difference between married and unmarried couples. In 2024, only 5.3% of children of married couples receive a double surname. Among unmarried couples, however, the share rises to 8.5%. Couples who choose not to get married are often also those most likely to question traditional patterns, not only in the legal form of the relationship, but also in family symbols.
Whatever the context of origin, deciding to assign a double surname is a choice that will also change the approach to surnames of the next generations. The legislation, in fact, provides that parents can choose which of their surnames to pass on, only one for each, to avoid an “infinite surname” effect.
