Now the traffic light government is buttoning up the naming rights

It seems as if the traffic light coalition wants to record another success after all the dispute. Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) presented his plans for a reform of naming rights on Sunday. A largely undisputed topic that is apparently intended to prove that the self-proclaimed progressive coalition is still working well.

"Especially when it comes to double names, the current law is far too restrictive," explained Buschmann. It is high time to allow spouses to express their bond through a common double name. It should also be possible for children of divorce to change their family name. "The diversity of family life has increased in recent decades," says Buschmann.

Specifically, this means the following: If, for example, Mr. Müller marries his partner Ms. Voigt, only one of the two can be called Müller-Voigt after the marriage – most of the time the choice falls on the woman. The couple is not allowed to pass the double name on to their children. If Mrs. Voigt then divorces Mr. Müller, the children can no longer change their surname Müller – unlike their mother.

This should be over now. The Minister of Justice intends to present a draft law in the near future that will make changes to previous practice. Buschmann has not yet officially commented on the question of whether children in the future could take both of their parents' double names and thus have four surnames.

From coalition circles, however, it is said that the regulation should be limited to two individual names. As in other European countries, the hyphen should become optional. Mr. Müller could therefore simply be called "Müller Voigt".

Naming rights are a matter close to the heart of the Liberals: as the opposition faction at the time, they submitted a motion to this effect in the last legislative period. The grand coalition, which had initially appointed a commission of experts on the subject, then left the subject untouched.

The draft law planned by Buschmann must now be voted on within the traffic light. “By clearing up the naming rights, we are living up to our claim as a progressive coalition,” praises Helge Limburg, legal policy spokesman for the Greens parliamentary group. His colleague Sonja Eichwede from the SPD parliamentary group also agrees: "Being able to form real double names takes better account of the diversity of individual lives in our society and promotes the well-being of children."

Even the opposition agrees with the project. Upon request, the Union and Left factions announced that they welcomed the planned regulation. Only the AfD rejects the "once again actionist and unthought-out proposals of the Minister of Justice," said legal policy spokesman Thomas Seitz.

The fact that Buschmann's reform did not meet with any major resistance is also due to the fact that it was relatively small. For years, experts have been calling for a more far-reaching reorganization of naming rights. This would also mean that surnames are generally easier to change - regardless of the double name. For example, when the surname is perceived as complicated or embarrassing. So far, the hurdles for this have been rather strict.

However, such a general reform is not an issue in Buschmann's current legislative plans. Firstly, because in this case the responsibility lies with the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Secondly, because the potential for conflict within the traffic light and among the population would then be significantly higher. It seems as if the government currently prefers to avoid such a dispute.

There is definitely a willingness in the parliamentary groups to take further steps. "The requirements for a reason worthy of recognition must be significantly reduced and the possibility of changing the name made easier," demands the SPD politician Eichwede. Greens and FDP are also open.

There are only differences in one point of the current legislative plans. "I would find a merging of surnames instead of double names with a hyphen a refreshing innovation and therefore very charming," says Green politician Limburg. The regulation is already in practice in Great Britain, for example. If Mr James marries his partner Harrison there, they could share the name Jamison.

SPD politician Eichwede is willing to discuss “further-reaching flexibilisation” with the experts as part of the hearing. On the other hand, there is a sharp contradiction from the FDP: “Unlike the possibility of double names, the merging of two surnames is not only completely alien to our naming rights, there is also no serious desire among the population for such a name combination that deviates from the principles of our naming rights,” criticizes the legal policy spokeswoman Katrin Helling-Plahr.

It seems unlikely that the Greens will prevail with their unusual request.

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