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October 2011 Moms
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naming your child question - last name

rktorkto
in October 2011 Moms

I dont know if anyone knows the answer to this and it may be different in Canada.

do you have to give your child your last name? or could you, technically, name it a different last name that you made up if you wanted? 

dont worry I am not going to call my baby some random last name.  My husband (and now me through marriage) has 2 last names but no hyphen.  Imagine John Wilson Smith.  But Wilson Smith is the last name.  He is also AKA (on his passport) John Wilson.  The problem with the name John Wilson Smith is that people think Wilson is a middle name and Smith is the last name which is completely false. 

can we name our child - Susan Wilson? even though both of our names say Wilson Smith as the last name? 

'our other option is to officially change our names to a hyphen.  but that is a lot of paperwork and $70 each

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Re: naming your child question - last name

  • cantalopes24cantalopes24 member
    Why wouldn't you guys just drop the Smith all together? Or go by Smith Wilson. It seems odd using the name in the middle. I personally would either hypen or name the child by the name that is last in the grouping otherwise people are going to wonder why shes baby Wilson and you are the Smiths.
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  • Ess-elleEss-elle

    Here's the "non-guaranteed" answer from my (Canadian!) federal employee husband:

    "My understanding of it is that if you have a double-barrelled surname (ie. Wilson Smith, hyphen or not is irrelevant) you can give the child any surname that you or your spouse has or any combination thereof.  So, yes, I believe you can just give the child Wilson as a last name without having to legally change your names.  You can't, however, give your child a completely different last name (ie. Jones) that neither of you possesses.  The correct people to contact to verify this is your provincial Vital Stats agency."  

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    James Alistair - October 2, 2011

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  • forensicmamaforensicmama member
    Yes, you can. You can give your child just about any surname you want. My sister and her ex-husband's last name was Baughman, but they named all four of their children Jones, after her ex's grandfather who raised him. I think it made some paperwork things more confusing, but it has worked for them.
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  • LovieBearLovieBear member
    I believe you can name him any name regardless of your name in the US
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  • rktorkto

    imagecantalopes24:
    Why wouldn't you guys just drop the Smith all together? Or go by Smith Wilson. It seems odd using the name in the middle. I personally would either hypen or name the child by the name that is last in the grouping otherwise people are going to wonder why shes baby Wilson and you are the Smiths.

    we are actually Mr&Mrs Wilson.   and sometimes Mr&Mrs Wilson Smith.  so the child will be the same as us Baby Wilson. 

    image
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  • cantalopes24cantalopes24 member
    imagerkto:

    imagecantalopes24:
    Why wouldn't you guys just drop the Smith all together? Or go by Smith Wilson. It seems odd using the name in the middle. I personally would either hypen or name the child by the name that is last in the grouping otherwise people are going to wonder why shes baby Wilson and you are the Smiths.

    we are actually Mr&Mrs Wilson.   and sometimes Mr&Mrs Wilson Smith.  so the child will be the same as us Baby Wilson. 

    Gotcha. In the US when your baby is born it is Baby Gender Mothers LN and then you fill out the birth certificate to say whatever you want the name to be. I don't think it would be an issue.

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