Female surnames in Kenya - the Kikuyu men standing up to ridicule - BBC News

Children often inherit their father's first name as a surname, but traditions are changing and causing upset.

Image caption, Simon Macharia Wangũi says he is proud to have chosen his mother's name as his surname

Many children in Kenya traditionally inherit their father's first name as their surname, but there are an increasing number of people who are taking their mother's instead.

This is particularly the case amongst the country's largest ethnic group, the Kikuyu - and has become a subject of debate and in some cases ridicule for the men with female surnames.

Girls and women who have their mother's names do not face the same censure - and often when they marry may opt to take their husband's first name as their surname.

Some say the growing trend of men having female surnames reflects changing attitudes to women and their influence in what is a patriarchal society; others are critical of those who have been given - or in some cases opt to take - their mother's name.