Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-25250830-20140905030244

So, after tonight's episode we finally know a bit more about Ruby and Yang's family. What we learned got me thinking about surnames and how they seem to be passed on in the RWBY universe.

If the people of Remnant (or Vale at least) were to use the real world naming tradition of inheriting your father's surname, then both girls should have their father's name- But Ruby shares her mother's surname instead, 'Rose'. This would seem to suggest that either: A) children on Remnant inherit the surname of the parent of their own sex- or B) Children on Remnant inherit their mother's surname. If either of these assumptions hold true, then the father of Ruby and Yang is not called 'Mr. Xiao Long'- That would be Yang's mother's name.

Another interesting thing to note is that Summer kept her own surname after hooking up with the girls' father. This would seem to suggest that women on Remnant don't take on the surnames of their husbands- or that they do, but Summer never married the father.

What do you guys think?  