 Before that date, the default was for a married woman's name to be changed to that of her husband, unless she legally applied to opt out of this.In France, by executive decision since 2011 and by law since 2013, any married person may officially use their spouse's name as a common name by substituting or compounding it to their own.Before this it was common for married women to use their husband's name in everyday life but this had no legal recognition.