Can I register a name with an accent?

[FingonTheValiant]

Pretty much that really. DS is due in a few weeks and the name we've picked should have an -é- in it. It'll be fine when we register him with the French, but I'd really like his birth certificate and passport to have the accent on, and we'll be registering him with the Brits first. Does anyone know if that's possible?

Thanks very much :)

you can, because entries are written in handwriting, not typed.

Super, thanks very much! :)

My DS has a (French) middle name with an accent- not a problem... though you will find it isn't printed on the passport

Um- his British passport, obv!

Yes you can.

DD (donkeys years ago) went to playschool with a girl called Tonée. Her mother said that she had to 'battle' to get the accent registered and apparently the registrar' put up a fight', but she got her way in the end. You know the type of strange woman I mean.

Btw, it was pronounced Tony, as in Blair. Accent meant bugger all. Just there for show.

I wish there had been a Mumsnet back then, so I could have come on here and chortled about it in a vile and judgey way

Ah ok, so birth certificate fine, British passport not so much. I'm more worried about the birth certificate, as that seems more like proof of his name, so as long as that's got it I can live with it. I think once we move back to France his Carte d'Identité will be used more than the passport, so no one will ever know :o

Sorry your DS has lost his accent too :(

whn i registered dd2, the system had jsut changed.

entries are no longer handwritten - it is all entered onto a computer now (I believe this "new" system is nationwide)

the new system came into play a couple of weeks before dd2 was born, so coming up to 4 years ago.

It has caused no end of problems for us, for a different reason, as dd2's name was entered incorrectly into the computer, resulting in her having a passport which is not actually in her name

Birth certificates are now all printed, not handwritten.

Lol GetOrf. To be honest, the accent won't make much difference to the Brits pronouncing it, but once we're back in France it'll have to be there, so I'd like to make sure it's recorded on the paperwork somewhere.

I wonder of it was just the accent the registrar 'put up a fight' about :o There's plenty more judging to be had out of that one

Aargh, no! Just when I thought all would be well. I better prepare for battle à la Tonée's mum.

Oh Silverfrog, you've made me sad again :(

Gosh, what a cock up with your DD2's name, you'd think they'd have a system to check it all.

1. Can my child's name be recorded showing grammatical accents?

Yes, where the names given to the child include grammatical accents such as acutes or graves, then these can be included in the birth register.

From here www.stirling.gov.uk/index/life/registrar/registerbirth/your_questions_registerbirth.htm but I would have thought it would be the same wherever you are in the UK.

oh, it's a total farce in our case.

we checked the printout (you get a "proof copy" to agree, then the real thing is printed), and pointed out the very error which is now causing all the problems.

the registrar checked, and checked again, as this was the first time he had had cause to check this particular anomaly.
the answer came back as "this is what the computer prints, so it must be right"

well, not according to the passport office, it isn't

and, the system is totally screwed up, as we cannot correct the error. dd2's name has been recorded correctly on The Register 9we have double and triple checked that) - the error occurs when the computer prints out the birth cert. what is printed is the only version we can get, and there is no error on the actual Register to correct

which leaves the passprt office working from a birth cert which is wrong , resulting in dd2 having a new name made up for her...

and I always forget to book her tickets in the wrong name, too, which causes all sorts of hassle as well!

They are typed, but you can still have an accent. My son has one on his middle name. I can't type it cos I'm on my phone and I can't find it on here...

blimey, that's annoying.

i hate how short-sighted civil servants can be in these cases - it's not just "whoops a typing error", it's actually a mistake about the identity of your child.
if this continues when she becomes an adult, she could get into trouble at customs and everything, for no fault of her own.

i wonder if you can insist on having a handwritten copy of the certificate?

My son is called Siôn and the ^ is on his birth certificate. He doesn't have a passport yet so I don't know whether they would print it on that.

Thanks so much everyone, I'm feeling better again :)

Silverfrog, that's so completely rubbish of them! on your behalf. How can they not understand that it's really serious? And also completely bizarre, why on earth does it print it wrong? I wonder if it does it every time someone tries to print that name. I hope they can sort it, it's completely ridiculous for her to have to travel under a wrong name.

But the in Sion is a British usage, so that should^ surely be present on a UK passport?

Fingon - don't feel too sad for me re DS' accent... I panic every time I have to write DS full name out, as I can never remember which E takes the accent (name is Etienne)... 'tis DH who is French

In fact, I often use his birth certificate to double check

We have enough trouble getting people to put the ^ on Siôn that it wouldn't suprise me if they didn't put it on his passport.

Lol, fair enough then! Actually, the French don't always put the accent on Etienne, as they're not technically required on capital letters. You can use that piece of trivia to throw your dh off the scent should he ever notice the double-checking :o

"Good moaning. Ah wud lark to rugisturr a birs of a cheeld."

(Reads thread... Oh, I see...)

DS has a ' above his A in 2 of his names, DD also does. The registrar couldn't find it so DP had to!

Good point, purpleflower, I'll find out where they are on English keyboards in advance and then there can be no get out :o

Ahem, yes, I did reread the title and realise it could come across like that UnquietDad, everyone else was too polite to mention it though :o

"Good moaning. Ah wud lark to rugisturr a birs of a cheeld."

Aye. Ah fought same fing.

That's what I thought UQD. I clicked to see if it was going to be Michelle, but in a French accent. Or similar.

Thanks Fingon- I shall stop worrying so much!

v droll UQD!

Since I found this thread when I was searching the internet on this question, I thought I'd add an update: I've just registered my son with an accented í in his name. The registrars can choose from a long list which appears to include all the accents standard in Latin-alphabet languages.