I have seen in TV shows and Movies with mothers brining home children without yet a name. How long do they have before the HAVE to name it? I would assume it would have to be before the baby get its shots otherwise the Doctors offfice will not be able to put in the new patient info without a name. If not that than at least by school right? What are the limits on this kinda thing.
Cecils column answers the myth that you have to name a baby at the hospital.
Ok but it didn’t answer on how long they have to name their child. How are you supposed to get a SS card with no name. And what are the legal rules about changing names or using different ones? My first name is Chris although my birth certificate and drivers ID both say Christopher, Although I know some Chris’s and Christopher who do not use the name interchangeably. How far can you go with “shortened nicknames” On legal documents?
I have seen a child enrolled in high school with the name Baby Boy Smith (except it wasn’t Smith, obviously). So I think the answer is “never”.
WAG but I’d imagine that as long as it’s understood and agreed by all involved parties that the person named on the document is you, it doesn’t matter what’s written on it. After all, signing with an “X” is a perfectly legitimate signature.
IANAL, but as I understand it (in the US, anyway) you can legally use any name you please for any legal purpose, and you can use multiple names, one for each purpose. In other words, I can sign a contract as John Smith (not my real name) as long as the other party accepts that and I am not trying to defraud the other party. I can also sign another contract as Joe Blow, again as long as I am not trying to defraud anyone by doing it. Any real lawyers, feel free to fight my ignorance.
There aren’t many laws regarding names in the U.S. and there is no real system of record either. The Social Security administration is the closest thing to that in the U.S. but that is only for specific purposes. You can change names just by starting to use a new one and having other people accept it for their own use.
You can even use multiple names and “stage names” if you want. I have gone by my middle name since birth and most people don’t even know what my first name is. I have always deposited checks made out to my middle name or even variants of it and never had a problem. Some people have widely accepted nicknames that they use exclusively. My younger brother’s given name is different than his legal one and has been since birth (my family is weird with names). That doesn’t cause any problems either.
You can get a legal name change which is usually just a rubber stamp from a judge when you change names but you don’t have to. It is pretty common for females to use different last names because of marriage and divorce. My ex-wife uses three different variations of last names depending on the context.
I learned the hard way to use my full legal name on legal documents.
I dislike my first name and use my middle name. Somehow I got my health insurance at work in my middle name. Years later a week in the hospital nearly cost me a fortune. They were filing using my full legal name. The insurance claims were being denied because the name didn’t match. Soon I started getting bills for almost 20 grand. Scared the shit out of me. It took several months to clear up. I almost got my paycheck garnished.
From now on insurance, credit cards, bank accounts etc. are in my full legal name.
Obviously you can’t, but what’s the big rush? You think the first thing the baby’s going to do after popping out is file for benefits?
(Kids these days…)
Doesn’t the kid need an SSN before the parent’s can claim it as a dependant on their tax returns?
yes, tax forms ask for the SSN for each kid you claim as a deduction
One of my nephews (on the Norwegian side) got his first shots before he had a name. The clinic just left the first name part blank until his name was decided.
By the same token, then, can you give an unborn child a name and number, and thereby claim him/her as a deduction? After all, if anyone is dependent, it’s an unborn.
One assumes he was called something.
As has been implied, in the U.S. at least, a baby is born with the default name “Baby Boy Lastname” or “Baby Girl Lastname” for official purposes. Our first medical records for our son when he was one day old have that name, for example.
Normally parents indicate the child’s real name when they fill out the paperwork for the birth certificate at the hospital, but it’s not necessary – the default name can last indefinitely, as far as I know.
I know for a fact that my attorney’s law partner didn’t officially name his son for over two years. When they finally settled on a name, it was “John”.
I assume it depends on jurisdiction. Here in Victoria Australia I had to register my daughter’s birth within 60 days - at which point she would have require a name.
I had an uncle who was never given a name. They called him “Buck” from a young age because they couldn’t decide what they wanted to name him. They never did decide, and he was always known as Buck.
I have a BIL who proudly says he wrestled* two days *with naming his daughter post birth, somehow deriving inspiration for her name from her newborn appearance.
Actually, he’s just neurotic.
Here in South Africa, the parents have to notify the government of a birth within 30 days, and that notification has to include a name for the baby.