German Court Says Nein to Long Last Names

Ruling upholds ban on "chain names" with more than one hyphen
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 6, 2009 8:07 AM CDT
German Court Says Nein to Long Last Names
Germany has ruled that couples combining their surnames when they marry must limit the number of surnames to two.   (©firemedic58)

Germany's highest court has upheld the country's ban on triple-barreled surnames, the BBC reports. The court ruled that limiting surnames to two did not violate freedom of expression laws. Frieda Thalheim and Hans-Peter Kunz-Hallstein—who have been married for 12 years but legally couldn't take their preferred last name, Thalheim-Kunz-Hallstein—said they were disappointed by the ruling. (More name stories.)

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