Changing baby name after 12 months!

[rocketscientist]

Basically, Ive grown to really dislike my baby's real name. He has a nickname that we use instead of his real name but I dont want to use that formally either. (Its cute but daft.) Im not against using the original name as a middle name but has anyone changed their baby's first name this late! Will it affect him badly? DH doesnt think Im serious, yet, but its driving me mad. (ds doesnt have any middle names at present as it was a nightmare choosing one name and we obviously got even that wrong!)

i think it could be annoying for him in the future. you would have to do it by deed poll, which means he would then have to declare the name change on all manner of official documents (the bit where it says, have you ever been known by any other name)

i really feel we need to know what the name is to advise best!! is it that awful? what has changed your mind? i think it is probably not as bad as you think...?? cxould you revert to using the proper name and abandon the daft nickname?

Do you have another name in mind?

I dont mean to be difficult but im not saying the name as its not really relevant. Most people like it tbh. But i don't! I cant bond with it somehow. 'thisisyesterday' Im worried now about him having to mention the old name all the time on forms if I change by deed poll. Is that even if he hasnt even got a passport/bank account etc in the old name?

No advice rocketscientist but just wanted to say I know exactly how you feel.

I had a nightmare choosing a name for DS2 and felt railroaded by family members who ridiculed the only name I did have...fifteen months on and I still cannot get to grips with the name we chose. To me my little boy simply isn´t that name...don´t think I can do anything now but it makes me very [sad}

bebespain - why dont you think you can do anything now if you dont mind me asking? I feel sad too and my main worry is the effect on my son. But a lifetime of regret!? i was pushed by family too by the way.

Can you not keep the official name and use his middle name everyday, it sounds like it will be a hassle for him in the future if you change it. Sods law says you will change it and when older he will prefer the one he has to write in 'previous names'! Or you could just adopt a similar name for him but keep his official name.

How much older than 12 months is he? If he is only just over 12 months old you may still be able to change it on the birth certificate as you can make changes up to 12 months after the original registration. The General Register Office may be able to give you more info (0151 471 4806)

It´s a bit more complicated for me as we live in Spain and DS2 already has a passport. Deed poll would not be recognised here.

The Spanish LOVE their paperwork and I just know it would prove to be very tricky further along the line for DS, and I don´t want to saddle him with a lifetime of explaining to do, life can be complicated enough. People just don´t change their names here.

No middle name to fall back on either, I think in all honesty it will haunt me forever...

I know an adult who is known by a completely different name to on his birth certificate. I didn't even know until recently that is wasn't his 'real' name. I think the story is that one of his parents really didn't like his name so started calling him something else, which stuck. I don't think it causes him any problems and its an amusing little anecdote

I know several adults whose name is nothing like their birth certificate name. My dad has a friend called Mick, we've known him for 30 years. Only recently did I find out his name is actually Brian. It's not a nickname, no story behind it, it's just what he chose to be called.

i believe that any change by deed poll has to be declared, regardless of age when it was changed and whether he had bank account/passport etc

i could be wrong tho, so happy for those with more knowledge to correct me!!!

agree tho, that if he is only just over a year you may still be able to do it

a friend of mine did persuade them to let her change her sons middle name, tho it was over a year since he was registered (only just tho)

A true but daft story on naming changing. My parents have always called me XXXXX, eveyone else calls me XXXXX. However, the registrar couldn't read my Dad's hand writing, hence my birth certificate has YYY on it. However, my parents didn't discover this for 6 months as the birth certificate got chewed and mangled by next doors dog ... took mum and dad 5 months to get a replacement certificate whne they saw I wa legally YYY. Mum very not happy! So, I was baptised quick and got my name changed to XXXXX under the 12 month rule that applies in England and Wales. I have to say it has been a right pain all my life. Whenever I produce my birth certificate I ahve to draw people's attention to the tiny little box at the bottom which confirms my official name change to XXXXX.

magichomes, yes you can of course just use a different name for your baby

but legally he will still be called what he was registered as. it will have to be on his passport etc etc

if you want to change it legally you need to do it via deed poll once they are over 1

there is some info here about whether you would be able to get hte birth certificate changed

For what its worth i also wanted to change my DD's name.DH decided on her name and i was never 100% about it.I never called her by her name and hated telling anybody.If i did tell anybody her name i always felt the need to explain her name.Fast forward to now and i couldn't imagine DD named anything else and i now think it really suits her.I can't believe i spent the fist year of her life calling her 'baby J' instead of her full name.
Talk to your DH about how you feel and take it from there.

Trouble is that dh no longer really likes the full name either. We have agreed on another name now but i am so angry at him for refusing to discuss this properly for so long. dh actually never uses the full name -just the silly nickname. I suppose as we both dont like it, we should change it, but our son is 16 months old! Will this mess him up!?

I think because your DS is 16mths you will have to change it by deed poll.
No i don't think it will mess him up,he is to young to be able to remember the name he has now.
When i had DS1 i wasn't 16 so he had my maiden name.I went on to marry his dad,but it wasn't till DS went to high school that we changed his name.He was always known by my married name even through it wasn't on his birth certificate.I think people just took it that because i was married to his dad he had the same last name.We finally changed it while registered DD 12 years later.It was never a problem and it is just a normal thing for DS to declare another known name,just like we declare our maiden name.
HTH

if you are going to change it, to make it easier for him, maybe start using the new name but also still use the old one a bit too for a few days and then gradually fade the old one out. play games like 'where is mummy?' 'here i am' and pointing, then do the same with his name perhaps?
as you both dislike the proper name i agree that changing it now would be the best in the long run.
i am known by my middle name and it is a bit annoying having to explain it everytime i ring the doctor's or or do official things, but it is no biggy really and an interesting quirk he can tell his friends when he's older!

A couple of Asian friends have called their dcs by a family nn and then reverted to their full and more grown up name which is nothing like the nn once they were 3 or 4 years old. Also Chinese children often have a Chinese name and then an 'English' name without disorientating them.

If you know you dislike it then change it and do the paperwork. It's not that often that you are called on to show you've been known by another name tbh. Once they get into the education system it gets more complicated so I would do it before then.

Oooh this is interesting - particularly your post shelscrape.

My five year old DD's official (birth cert) name is Rosie, but we often call her Rosalina (which she loves), and I'm really kicking myself that we didn't give her that as a "long" name, with Rosie as a nickname.

I'm currently looking into getting her name changed on the birth certificate, and I'm a bit confused about the rules. It seems from everything that I've read that a child under the age of 16 can have their forename changed on the certificate if they are baptised with that name. It seems that the 12 month rule doesn't apply in this instance.

DD has not yet been baptised, so I'm thinking I might go down that route. My only worry is that it will cause her hassle in the future.

i'm sorry, but you do need to do it by deed poll

the link says that a name can be changed on the register if the child has been baptised (the baptismal name can be added) or if an alternative name can be proved to have been in use during the first 12 months of life

if you could just change your name for the fun of it then ANYONE could apply for a passport in ANY name and the entire thing would be utterly pointless.
you cannot just change your name without deed poll