Should I change DS last name?

[postpartumisnotfun]

I met DH when DS was 8 months old, since then we've had 2 DC's and got married. We all have the same last name except DS.

He is 5 years old and isn't too bothered about changing his name I have asked him.

Shall I leave him until he is older to understand? Or just go ahead and do it, I have said to him we could double barrel it.

It's nearly time to renew his passport so i've been thinking about what's best to do.

Whose name does he have? If it’s his dads, I believe you need permission. Obviously, based on the assumption his dad is alive and he has his name.

personally I wouldn’t. My mum changed mine to her new husbands, though not legally. But I went by his name at school and everything. And then split with him so I had mine exhusbands last name when he was nothing to me. I was about 11 and asked to start using my original surname again.

a surname doesn’t need to be the same for someone to feel part of a family. The surname is only likely to be a problem if he feels left out in other ways.

I would wait until he is older and makes the choice himself.

He doesn't want it changing, so leave it as it is. When he's an adult he can decide.

Whose name does he have? If it’s his dads, I believe you need permission. Obviously, based on the assumption his dad is alive and he has his name.

It doesn't matter whose name he has, what matters is parental responsibility. If the father has that, she'll need his permission regardless of his current name.

My eldest has a different name to the rest of us (he has my maiden name). We always planned to wait to see if he said anything, or seemed upset, in which case I would consider changing it (his Dad doesn't have PR). I wouldn't have changed it unless I knew he really wanted to.

He has my surname, only met his real dad twice.

Does he have parental responsibility? I think he gets this if he's named on the birth certificate @postpartumisnotfun

If his father is on the birth certificate then you would need his permission to change the surname as he would have parental responsibility

If he has your surname, why do you want to change it? He's your child.

I think OP means he had her name until she got married and changed hers to her dhs surname

I wouldn’t change it. I’d double barrel yours so you share a name.

I know but he has the name of his parent. Why on Earth would you change it to be a man's surname he's not related to?

I changed my name to my older sisters dads surname when I was about 10, but it's a surname I had when I was born as my dad wasn't around so I had 2 birth certificates. When he showed up when I was around 3 my mum registered me with his surname, but because I had the birth certificate with my sisters dads surname on it my mum didn't have to do anything.
He might want to do it when he's older and realises he had a different name to you all.