"If you don't take your husband's name you won't be married." This is how a Home Affairs Department official responded to a journalist and author who had complained that her surname had been changed to that of her husband.Sarah Wild learned during the municipal elections that she was registered as Sarah de Wet.When she married, in April, she told the marriage officer that she wanted to keep her maiden name and this was duly filled in on the marriage form."They stole my name and I want it back," she said.South Africa's current marriage registration form has three categories. It allows a wife to indicate whether she is taking her husband's surname, keeping her maiden name, or creating a double-barrelled surname.Last week, when Wild phoned the Home Affairs office in Stutterheim, Eastern Cape, where she was registered, a department official told her: "But if you don't take your husband's name you won't be married."A frustrated Wild vented on social media, which resulted in many women sharing similar stories.In a few days, almost 90 women have filled in a form that Wild created detailing how they were given their husband's surnames against their wishes.The Legal Resources Centre said it was considering pursuing the matter.Wild believes the problem is "systematic"."I am pretty sure that it is not intentional but it is happening," she said.Home Affairs spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete said there could be multiple causes for the problem."For example, an incomplete form from marriage officers will mean a woman by default is given her husband's surname."He said the problem might also arise when marriage forms are transcribed onto a computer."It's an issue, even if it affects only one person."But Tshwete cautioned against concluding that the problem was systematic. The department processes abut 250 000 marriages a year.The Times viewed a marriage form from one marriage officer which lacks the different categories for a woman to choose her surname. He was not told by home affairs when handing in forms to register a recent wedding, that his forms were outdated.This could also result in an automatic surname change...