Maria Mashkova defies traditions by keeping her surname despite changing family norms

Maria Mashkova’s choice to retain her surname highlights ongoing debates about identity, cultural symbolism, and personal autonomy in naming practices amid evolving societal norms.

Maria Mashkova has made clear that she is in no rush to give up her surname, and she says the only circumstance in which she might do so would be if her father specifically asked her to. In remarks reported by Vechernyaya Moskva, the actor’s daughter said she had been married twice but had never seriously considered taking another family name, adding that her father valued the fact that his only daughter remained Masha Mashkova.

That small personal detail opens onto a much larger question: what, if anything, changes when a person changes their name? According to numerology expert Yevgenia Belova, quoted by Vechernyaya Moskva, a name and surname are tied to a person’s everyday soundscape, and becoming used to them is part of how identity takes shape. A switch, she argues, can feel jarring because the person has to adapt to a different rhythm and, in some cases, even a different sense of self.

Belova’s view fits neatly with a broader numerology argument often repeated in specialist writing: name-based numbers can change when the letters change, while birth-date numbers remain fixed. Articles published by the Professional Numerology Association and Numerely both say that a new name can shift the signals a person gives to the world, while VangaVanga describes the change as adding a new energetic vibration rather than replacing the old one. In other words, whether one treats the idea mystically or psychologically, the name can function like a signal that others, and the wearer, read differently.

The tradition of taking a husband’s surname has its own history, and it is far from universal. Vogue and Marriage.com both note that the practice is rooted in older social structures, while surnameorigin.org points out that naming customs have long varied across cultures and have changed as ideas about marriage, household formation and identity have evolved. That is part of why many couples now keep their own names, combine them, or invent something new altogether.

Belova also suggested that timing matters, especially in marriage, because a surname can symbolically tie a person to a different family line. In her telling, a woman who is uneasy about her partner’s family should think carefully before changing documents, and should weigh both the emotional fit and the aesthetic feel of the new name. Her playful example, in which a bride might want to avoid an especially awkward-sounding new surname, underlines the same point: a name change is not just paperwork, but a personal decision with cultural, emotional and symbolic weight.