Surnames. We’ve all got them and they certainly cause trouble at times. Do you change your name when you get married? What will you name your child if you are not married to the other parent? Does that matter? Certainly, when you are registering the birth, you need to agree the surname and you cannot change a child’s surname if there are court orders in place relating to the child or if one person with parental responsibility does not agree.
What are the solutions? Well it seems people are getting creative. The BBC have a video on their website with discussion and options about the solution. It’s worth a watch (link below) but here are the main recommendations:
- Husband takes the wife’s name. Legal and can be done.
- ‘Mash’ your surnames. Mr Macken and Miss Wells become Mr and Mrs Mackenwells. Clever – provided your names work well together.
- Mash the first names – one parent called Clive another called Ann becomes Clyfan. Tricky this one but interesting.
- Adopt the Spanish method of having double barrelled names where the surname is father-mother.
- Have double barrelled name but refined in terms of passing on with gender balancing. Everyone has double barrelled surnames but you only pass on the surname of the parent who is the same gender as you. The example given was Vivienne Jolie-Pitt and Levon Thurman-Hawke. Vivienne passes on Jolie and Levon passes on Hawke so their family would be the Jolie-Hawkes. Half siblings will always share one surname. If you remarry, you retain part of your surname. For same sex couples, a person would choose which of the surnames they want to pass on. So, if you have two dads, say, Boomer and Levan then your surname would be Boomer-Levan or Levan-Boomer and then if you marry, you decide whether you want to keep the Boomer bit or the Levan bit.
- Create your own surname. In 1934 a law was passed in Turkey requiring citizens to adopt a surname of their choice.
- Have two surnames – one for personal use and one for professional use.
Another option we have seen used is keeping the mother’s name as a middle name, which we think has been a practice in Scotland in the past. So, Iona, the child of Flora McDonald and Dougray McGregor would be Iona McDonald McGregor and would probably be called Iona McGregor in the day to day.
Given that the unmarried family is the fastest growing type of family, the thought given to the choice of surname will surely increase. It is not a case of simply taking what you are given any more.
If you need help in resolving a disagreement about a child’s name, we can help. Just give us a call.
The BBC website link:
https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/seven-simple-solutions-to-the-surname-dilemma/p06hrgj9