Are kids able to be given a legal last name unrelated to their parents?

r/

Can a perfectly normal household have a child and instead of taking the father or mother’s last name, the child would have another one? Like, father is Jackson, mother is Jameson, and they try to make the kid a Johnson? If it is possible, are there limitations beyond what the government says nobody can be named?

Comments

  1. Lost_Needleworker285 Avatar

    Yeah, but be warned it’s a stupid idea.

  2. kaylabedumb Avatar

    Yes that’s possible , atleast in the states, but i know some states like Tennessee are more strict on that but totally doable

  3. WomanNotAGirl Avatar

    Yeah if you want to carry their birth certificate everywhere you go to prove they are your child

  4. Glad-Hospital6756 Avatar

    I think this depends on the country but I asked the same question to people in my real life a while ago haha if you’re in the US, yeah it is possible. It’s just one of those, “but why would you” things.

  5. Less-Requirement8641 Avatar

    Yeah, I don’t have my dad or mums last name but my last name is still related to them. My last name is literally my fathers first name. Don’t know why they randomly decided to change it up but its definitely allowed.

  6. disregardable Avatar

    There aren’t any laws on this, and judges generally only intervene if the name is particularly harmful to the child’s wellbeing (eg. directly named after Hitler).

  7. IndomitableAnyBeth Avatar

    In Oklahoma, you fill out the birth certificate with few restrictions in what the name must be. Last name doesn’t have to be the same as either parent, but can’t contain numbers or several special characters, etc. Sister’s kid always had a different last name than either parent.

  8. anditurnedaround Avatar

    Yes. You can use a made up name, the mother maiden name. The father name. Any name. One parent has to sign. 

  9. SheketBevakaSTFU Avatar

    Perfectly legal in the US. Very common in some south Asian countries.

  10. Low_Tomatillo235 Avatar

    This is something I’ve always wondered, I currently have my step fathers last name and I don’t want to pass it down to my future children. I guess if it is allowed I’m not sure what I would change the name to lol.

  11. boopbaboop Avatar

    You can name your kid Princess Consuela Bananahammock if you want to. The US doesn’t have restrictions on names outside of (in some states) profanity or number of letters. 

  12. SaraHHHBK Avatar

    Not in my country

  13. TrappedInHyperspace Avatar

    I know a couple in the US who did this. Two kids, same last name as one another but different from either parent. The parents are a bit eccentric.

  14. blueredscreen Avatar

    I suppose that might not be a restriction in many jurisdictions around the world, but that is a completely separate thought as to whether or not it is a good idea to begin with. A lot of incredibly stupid things are also perfectly legal.

  15. molten_dragon Avatar

    Yes. My kids don’t have the same last name as me or my wife.