About last names

[kisaki]

Hi ladies,

Has anyone here chose last name for their baby that is different than both the mother's and the father's ? To explain:
My last name is A
Father's last name is B
I want child's last name to be C. Where C is a shortened version of B.
Reason I want this is both A and B are foreign-sounding names, difficult to pronounce in English. C would be much easier.
I don't want my baby to face the same discrimination we dealt with in life.

I know from a legal standpoint the above is possible and allowed. But I want to know if anyone has done this and what gotchas to expect along the way? The one thing that comes to mind is when traveling internationally, we'd probably need to prove the baby is our baby since neither of us share a name. Anything else? Registering for school or anything like that?

Thank you all!

I'd give the baby your surname - surname A.

I don't know anyone who has done this, but I know lots of couples who've created a brand new surname for the whole family.

Usually one changes their name by deedpoll, the other then changes theirs on marriage and the children have that name.

Or you can both just do it by deedpoll.

I know couples who have created names for their new family for example X Smith and Y Jones become the Miller family. I also now know examples where a whole family has changed their name so it's easier in the country they live.

I don't know any families where Ms Giordano and Mr Piotrowicz call their child X Peters. If you travel with a birth certificate then I can't see it would hugely problematic and I think that would be the biggest hurdle.

@toastofthetown

I know couples who have created names for their new family for example X Smith and Y Jones become the Miller family. I also now know examples where a whole family has changed their name so it's easier in the country they live.

I don't know any families where Ms Giordano and Mr Piotrowicz call their child X Peters. If you travel with a birth certificate then I can't see it would hugely problematic and I think that would be the biggest hurdle.

Thank you toastofthetown! I am also considering that option but while it's easy for a baby to start fresh with a new name, it would be a nightmare admin-wise for myself and my partner. Not so much in the UK (where I understand changing your lastname is fairly easy) but in our country of birth. We still have family ties there and visit a few times per year. The bureaucracy involved in changing your name there would be horrible. I think I'll give baby the new last name to begin with . And then, if things get really complicated, I can do what you and Twizbe suggested where partner changes his name by deedpoll and then I marry him and take his name later on. So eventually we will all have the same last name.

In terms of paper work it's easier if you marry before baby is born. If you marry after you have to re register the baby.

It is possible to change your name here and not in your home countries.

My friend uses her married name here and it's on her British passport (British visa before that) but has kept her maiden name in her home country. Like you it's a pain to change it there so she hasn't.

I had a friend growing up whose parents did exactly what you suggest - she and her sister had a last name that was a family-related last name, but not the same as either of their parents. The parents wanted to avoid pronunciation issues and discrimination.

In their case, both siblings had the mothers surname as a middle name. That might help with paperwork.

It caused no practical problems for them as far as I know. Very occasionally they got asked if they were adopted.

We created a new middle name for our family but not just for our children, my DH and I took the name aswell so we all have the same last name. It is the name of my husband's step father who would have likely adopted him had he been able.
If I were you I would take the shortened name you were proposing for your DC and change everyone in the family otherwise I think you are likely to encounter lots of complications along the way. Either that or give your DC one of your surnames.

A lot of people used to tweak their names to make them easier to use in a new country. No reason not to, but I suppose you quite want to consider changing the family's name?

If you’re British passport holders it’s possible to have legal aliases listed. So you could change your name to the proposed new name, and use that for the baby but list your birth name as a legal alias and leave your name as is in your home country.