Can I double barrel my DD's name without XP's consent?

[greenmelon]

I know he won't agree to it but I really want my DD to have my name. Do I need his consent? We were never married but he is on the birth certificate. Any advice? TIA.

Yes, you need his consent, or a court order.

How old is she?
Presumably when she is of a certain age she can choose to be known by the two names, and officially change it once she is older?

It is outrageous, IMO, that using the surname of one parent can be blocked by the other.

My friends child has a known as name... He uses for school.. she is going to be married soon and the boy has been double barrelling his name for months before my friend even noticed ( the dad would never agree despite neither seeing or paying for him)

School are fine with it but proper name must be on official documents

You can give her a "known as" name for school, but doctors and anything else official will need to be the name on her birth certificate.

Why was she not given a double barrel at birth? Do you want her to have your name due to your split with her dad?

"It is outrageous, IMO, that using the surname of one parent can be blocked by the other."

What else do you propose? If parents could change a child's name unilaterally, they'd just keep changing it back and forth.

What is outrageous, is that so many mothers give their child the name of the father when it is not their own, by default.

Why?

Because they hope one day this man is going to marry them?
Because they think a man's name is more important?

You shouldn't just change a child's name because you've split up. It's their name - it's not yours to change.

School are fine with it

You can give her a "known as" name for school

Schools should not be fine with a "known as" name. Guidance to schools from the government is clear and in line with court decisions. Schools are supposed to ensure that the surname by which a child is known is not changed without written evidence that everyone who has PR consents to the change. Any parent who does not consent to the change of name could get a court order to force the school to use the child's legal name.

MrsBert - I think that a mother (as in this instance) who has residency should be able to add her name in order to use her own surname. And vice versa for a father who has residency, if the child has the mother's surname. So, adding a name, once , to create a hyphenated name which reflects the names of the parents on the birth certificate. It seems a reasonable thing to do, to me.

OP - why would the father not agree? Just to be awkward?