Changing Your Child’s Name



It is also possible to change a child’s name by using as a special Change of Name Deed if they are under 18. Those who have parental responsibility over the child must consent to the change of name, and so must the child themselves if they are over 16.

What is parental responsibility ? - This is a legal term and it means having “all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent has in relation to the child and his property”.

A mother of a child in the UK automatically has parental responsibility for her child from the moment he or she is born, but it is slightly different for fathers.

If the child’s father was married to the mother at the time of the birth, or subsequently marries her, then he too will have parental responsibility for the child. (In Scotland the father will have parental responsibility if he was married to the mother at the time the child was conceived; in Northern Ireland subsequent marriage has no effect, but from April 2002 an unmarried father named on the child’s birth certificate does have parental responsibility).

An unmarried father can now (from 1 December 2003) also obtain parental responsibility if he registers the birth of his child with the mother.

If a parent has parental responsibility then his/her consent must be obtained, whether or not he/she is living with the other parent and/or the child. If this consent cannot be obtained then it is possible to change the child’s name, but only with the permission of the court.

Unmarried fathers - If the father of a child is not married to the mother then, apart from in NI, he will not have automatic parental responsibility for his child. However this can be acquired through an application to the court, subsequent marriage (not in NI), or by a formal agreement with the mother. An unmarried father can now (from 1 December 2003) also obtain parental responsibility if he registers the birth of his child with the mother.