This article addresses in anthropological perspective the interplay of demographic transi
tion in the countries of North Africa and gendered processes of kinship and marriage pred
icated on the transgenerational continuity of patronymics (nasab) which underpins individ
ual filiation and legitimacy. The present analysis departs from a comparative, diachronic
approach to variations in fertility decline, the rise of the age at first marriage for both gen
ders, persistent age gaps between spouses, contextually distinct rates of consanguinity, de
layed marriage versus final celibacy, and the prevalence and effects of son preference. These
facets entertain complex interrelations with national, regional, and international migratory
patterns, high youth unemployment, the increased cost of marriage and housing and, last
but not least, women’s access to education correlated with their persistent margnalisation
from the labour market. These dynamics, manifest in reduced fertility, touch at the heart
long-established modes of social reproduction and gender inequality and configure intense
public debate over a perceived ‘marriage crisis’. Yet, the emergence of novel modalities of
non-conventional or unregistered forms of marriage and, conversely, the feared emergence
of ‘terminal celibacy’ remain statistically limited. Indeed, ‘classical’ matrimony remains
an almost universal aspiration and, albeit with deferral, remains the keystone of the social
order. This constant renders apparent the contested yet perduring hold of the nasab complex.