Man receives death threats for changing his last name to wife's

Grant Phillips has received hate for the decision to change his name. Photo / Instagram

A Sydney man who decided to take on his wife's surname after they got married has received death threats about the move.

Grant Phillips went public with his decision last year and it quickly made headlines around the world.

According to News.com.au, he told whimn.com.au that he mulled over the decision for months.

"We'd been talking about it for a few months but I really hadn't decided until it came time to renew my passport," he said. "I was sitting there, staring at the little box where I had to write my name and I just thought, 'I'm doing this — it feels right.'"

Mr Phillips said his wife Jade was one of only two girls and her surname would have died with her if she had taken his name.

"This didn't seem fair because her name means a lot to her and her dad whereas I am not close to my extended family so have no emotional attachment to my name," he said.

"And then I did some research into the history of why women take their husband's names and there was nothing there that recommended it as a tradition that we should be continuing. It was always about ownership. I didn't want her to feel like she was owned by me.

"Everything just pointed to this being the right thing for us to do."

While Mr Phillips' decision was widely supported by his own friends and family, it appeared to offend some on social media.

In an Instagram post, Mr Phillips revealed just one of the messages he had received since taking his wife's surname.

The message said: "What sort of a man takes his wives name. You absolute f***ing pussy. I hope you and your whore of a wife die in a car crash so that your genes don't contonue (sic)."

Many comments expressed shock and disbelief at the message, with one user acknowledging how strong the reaction to Mr Phillips' decision had been.

"I've been replying to people's very negative comments about this in fb just asking them if they're ok because they seem soooo angry about this thing that has nothing to do with them," the user said.