Surnames after a Turkish–German marriage: German and Turkish rules

The short answer: what applies in November 2026?

A Turkish–German marriage often involves two registers: the German register office (Standesamt) and the Turkish civil register (nüfus). Each applies its own law.

• In Germany, since 1 May 2025 a person’s name is in principle governed by the law of the state where they have their habitual residence (Article 10(1) of the Introductory Act to the German Civil Code, EGBGB). Spouses can instead choose the law of a state of nationality. Under German law they can choose a common married name (Ehename), since the reform also a double name formed from both names, or keep their own names (§ 1355 of the German Civil Code, BGB).
• In Türkiye, the rule that a wife takes her husband’s surname (Article 187 of the Civil Code) has been annulled since 28 January 2024. As of November 2026 there is no new rule. A double surname for the wife (her name before his) is available on application; whether she can keep only her own surname is handled differently by different Turkish registry offices.

The result: the name can read differently in German and in Turkish documents.

Important: this page only reports what the statutes and official bodies cited say. It is not advice. Which name applies in a given case, and how it is recorded, is decided by the competent German register office and, on the Turkish side, by the consulate or the registry office (nüfus müdürlüğü). Check your case with them before the wedding.

Which law governs the name in Germany?

Article 10 EGBGB sets out German private international law on names. Since the reform, paragraph 1 reads: “The name of a person is governed by the substantive law of the state in which the person has his or her habitual residence.” Before, nationality was the main connecting factor. The Federal Foreign Office notes that names already acquired do not change as a result.

Spouses have a choice of law (Article 10(2) EGBGB). At or after the wedding, by declaration to the register office, they can choose the law for their future name of a state

1. of which one of them is a national, or
2. in which one of them has habitual residence.

Declarations made after the wedding must be publicly certified. So for a Turkish–German couple, German or Turkish name law may apply depending on nationality and residence. In addition, a person may choose the law of their state of nationality for their own name (paragraph 4, also publicly certified).

Matters completed before 1 May 2025 remain under the previous private international law (Article 229 § 67(8) EGBGB).

What names does § 1355 BGB allow?

Where German law applies, § 1355 BGB governs:

• The spouses may choose a common family name (Ehename). If they do not, each keeps the name they had at the wedding.
• By declaration to the register office they can choose as Ehename: one spouse’s birth name, the family name one spouse uses at the time of the declaration, or a double name formed from both spouses’ names.
• The parts of a double name are joined by a hyphen unless the spouses declare that they should be written without one.
• If a name itself consists of several names, only one of them may be used for the double name.
• The choice should be made at the wedding; a later declaration must be publicly certified.

§ 1355a BGB adds the accompanying name (Begleitname): the spouse whose name does not become the Ehename can put their birth name, or the name they used when the Ehename was chosen, before or after the Ehename. This is not possible if the Ehename already consists of several names.

What did the 2025 name law reform change?

The reform rests on the Act amending the law on married names, birth names and international name law of 11 June 2024 (Federal Law Gazette, BGBl. 2024 I No. 185, 14 June 2024). It entered into force on 1 May 2025. Three points matter most for couples with a Turkish connection:

1. Double name as Ehename. Until then only one name could become the Ehename. Since 1 May 2025 a double name from both names is possible, with or without a hyphen, but according to the Federal Foreign Office with no more than two parts.
2. Habitual residence instead of nationality as the connecting factor in international name law (see above).
3. Transitional rules. Spouses who already had an Ehename on 1 May 2025 can redefine it as a double name or revoke the choice by publicly certified declaration to the register office (Article 229 § 67(1) EGBGB). Otherwise, marriages and births before 1 May 2025 stay under the previous rules.

What applies on the Turkish side?

Until early 2024, Article 187 of the Turkish Civil Code provided that the wife takes her husband’s surname on marriage and may put her previous surname in front of it on application. The Constitutional Court annulled the article on 22 February 2023 (E. 2022/155, K. 2023/38; Official Gazette no. 32174 of 28 April 2023) because it treated men and women unequally. The annulment took effect on 28 January 2024.

As of November 2026 there is no new provision. A clause in the 9th Judicial Package that would have restored the old rule was dropped in November 2024. Under Article 24 of the Turkish implementing regulation, the wife can put her previous surname in front of her husband’s; she applies at the wedding or later at the registry office, including through e-Devlet. There is no separate procedure for a wife to keep only her own surname; dated commentary from 2026 reports that registry offices handle it differently. In detail: married women’s surnames in Türkiye.

The Turkish Civil Code makes no express provision for options such as the German Ehename taken from the wife’s name or a husband’s accompanying name.

How is a marriage concluded in Germany registered in Türkiye?

Under Article 24 of the Turkish Population Services Law (No. 5490), a marriage that Turkish citizens conclude abroad before the competent foreign authority is valid if it complies with the Turkish Civil Code and there is no ground for nullity. It must be reported within 30 days by the husband, or by the wife if the husband is a foreign national, by handing the foreign authority’s certificate to the Turkish consulate, which forwards the notification to the registry office.

If that is not possible, the report can be made at a registry office in Türkiye with a translated marriage certificate, certified and confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Article 25 of the implementing regulation sets out the details.

In the Turkish register, the wife’s record is moved to the husband’s household (Article 23(2) of the Population Services Law). The Constitutional Court upheld that rule on 4 June 2026 (E. 2025/216, K. 2026/128).

Can the name differ between the two registers?

Yes. In connection with the reform, the Federal Foreign Office expressly points out that a name may differ between Germany and another state.

The German register office records the name under the law that applies under Article 10 EGBGB. The Turkish register is kept under Turkish law. The sources reviewed do not describe how the Turkish register takes over an Ehename chosen under German law, for example when the wife’s name becomes the Ehename, when a double name from both names is chosen, or when the husband uses an accompanying name. If you plan such a name, ask the Turkish consulate beforehand how it would be entered in the nüfus.

What happens after a divorce?

German law: the divorced spouse keeps the Ehename (§ 1355(5) BGB). By publicly certified declaration to the register office, they can take back their birth name or the name used before the marriage, or add an accompanying name to the Ehename.

Turkish law: the divorced wife takes back her pre-marriage surname (Article 173 of the Civil Code). The court may allow her to keep her husband’s name if she has an interest in it and it does him no harm.

Recognition in Türkiye: under Article 27/A of the Population Services Law, a foreign divorce is entered in the Turkish register if it was issued by the authority competent under the law of the state of decision, has become final and is not manifestly contrary to Turkish public order. The spouses apply together or, if the other spouse has died or is a foreign national, the Turkish spouse alone. Abroad, the Turkish mission in the state of decision handles it. If registration is refused, recognition under the Turkish Act on Private International and Procedural Law (No. 5718) remains available.

What surname does the child take?

Under German law the child receives the parents’ Ehename as birth name (§ 1616 BGB). If the parents have no Ehename and share parental custody, they choose by declaration to the register office either one parent’s name or a double name from both (§ 1617(1) BGB). If they make no choice within a month of the birth, the child receives a double name formed from both names in alphabetical order (§ 1617(4) BGB); if a parent objects, the family court decides. Under Article 10(3) EGBGB the person with custody can also choose that the child’s name be governed by the law of a state of which a parent or the child is a national.

Under Turkish law a child of married parents carries the family surname (Article 321 of the Civil Code). The birth abroad of a child with Turkish citizenship must be reported to the consulate within 60 days (Article 15 of the Population Services Law). More here: a child’s surname in Türkiye.

Where do you get a binding answer?

• German register office: for the name declaration at the wedding, the choice of law under Article 10 EGBGB, the accompanying name and declarations after divorce. According to the Federal Foreign Office, people living abroad can have declarations certified at the competent German mission, which forwards them to the register office.
• Turkish consulate general or embassy: for reporting the marriage and births, and for registering a divorce in the Turkish register.
• Registry office (nüfus müdürlüğü) in Türkiye: if the report is not made through the consulate.

The information on this page was checked on 9 November 2026 against the official texts of the BGB and EGBGB (gesetze-im-internet.de), the Federal Law Gazette, the Federal Foreign Office’s guidance and the Turkish statutes (mevzuat.gov.tr). For the general Turkish rules: how to change your surname in Türkiye.