Suppose that a couple having a baby in the U.S. cannot come to an agreement on what name their child should have, who ultimately, has the final say as to what name will go on the child’s birth certificate?
What about in other countries? (Assuming the name choices follow all legal guidelines in that country.)
I have wondered this question if it got pushed to the limit like with a married couple who refused to budge individually. It will vary by state in the U.S. In some states like Massachusetts, only the mother signs the birth certificate even if she is married to the father so I presume she could give the baby the name of her favorite celebrity if she really wanted to. There aren’t many laws about names in the U.S. There was a Doper not very long ago who asked a version of this question on behalf of her married sister who was expecting a child and then divorce. Paternal rights still aren’t nearly as strong as maternal rights in many cases sometimes bordering on insanity so it will be the mother’s call first in some states. I am not sure what would happen if she chose a last name of another male or just one out of the blue.
Names aren’t always permanent though. I don’t know how it works for a married couple to sue one another and stay married but maybe a judge could enforce a reasonable compromise if the mother suffered from something like post-partum depression. The child is also free to pursue a name change later as well either legally or just by going with a nickname or an alias.
Laws vary by state about who is required to agree to a name on the birth certificate. But if no name can be agreed in time, the hospital will just issue a birth certificate as “Baby Lastname,” or perhaps a sex-specific placeholder.
The birth certificate can generally be updated by filing a form later.
Well, it could end up like this., alas.
Judging from the link, some people have very strong feelings about naming children, which is why I was surprised when I did a quick google search before posting and couldn’t come up with any information regarding specific laws or legal precedent.
I also assumed that the law would favor the mother in this situation, but I wondered if there was any legal recourse a father could take?
My uncle’s original birth certificate said “Baby Boy Fitzsimmons” on it until, a couple of months later, his parents picked a name. They then had the certificate reissued with his new name.
I know there are legal precedents that vary from state to state. You might want to call and ask the birthing hospital.
A lot of people reckon that what goes on the birth certificate thereby becomes the name of the child. In fact, I think the correct position is the other way around. Birth certificates record facts; they don’t create them.
Your name is what you are called, and what you are called is a matter of fact. For a newborn, the practical reality is that they don’t have much track record of being called anything; the real question is what the people in their lives intend to call them. So, if dad intends to call his son “Patrick” and mum intends to call him “Stephen” and neither will budge and both are likely to follow through on their intention, then “Patrick Stephen” (or “Stephen Patrick”) is what should go on the birth certificate.
(NB: “call” here doesn’t simply mean “address as”. Patrick Stephen might be addressed as Steve, or as Snookums, but these don’t go on the birth cert. “Call” includes “refer to as”, as well as “address as”, and it also includes the notion of a unique identifier rather than a term of endearment.)