Changing a child's name

[crapcrap]

My LG's dad has been absent for 3 years now- she has his surname but she knows herself by my surname (her dad and I are divorced).
I was contacted last night by one of his latest ex's and she mentioned that he keeps telling people that he doesn't know her surname etc (bs cos he was there when we registered her birth)- anyway, it's made me think.
My main issue is I always wanted to give her a middle name but he "couldn't be bothered" with it so we never did. I'd like to give her a middle name aswell as having my surname aswell (so hyphenating it)
We are no contact but I know he would never give me permission and I would get a load of abuse for even suggesting it.

Has anyone successfully changed their child's name? If so, how did you do it?

Please no bashing or anything, I just want to know if anyone has done it

It would need both of you to agree to the name change if he's on the birth certificate

You either need his consent, or you would need to go to court for a specific issue order to give permission for you to change her name.

To do so, you would have to show why a name change is in your child's best interests. I understand why you might want to change her name if her dad isn't involved with her, but what does she want? Courts recognise that a name is an intrinsic part of a child's sense of who they are, and that changing it is a big deal. You would therefore need to show a very compelling argument as to why changing her name is better for her than keeping it as it is - your own preferences won't really come into it.