General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I wish women in the U.S. automatically kept their last names when they marry [View all]uppityperson
(115,674 posts)"However, marriage grants a married person the right to assume his or her spouse's last name. It is still a common practice for a woman to use her husband's name in this way, despite the fact that no official due process formalizes this usage. The majority of married women use their husband's name for all documents, official or not."
I know a lot of French women who have the same name as husband, some don't, just like in the USA. Also, just like in the USA, " marriage grants a married person the right to assume his or her spouse's last name. It is still a common practice for a woman to use her husband's name in this way, despite the fact that no official due process formalizes this usage. The majority of married women use their husband's name for all documents, official or not."
And, like in the USA, you can formally file for a name change.
As far as "equal rights", also like many other places, that means legally, not necessarily socially or otherwise.