Babies Last Name in Texas

I just had my son in Texas 8 months ago and I believe the child's name is whatever you put on their birth certificate.

You can give the child whatever name you'd like. I chose to name my daughter after my last name when I was single instead of bio-dad's because he wasn't in the picture.

I used to jokingly tell my son that if I had known I had the freedom to give him any last name I wanted, I would certainly have put a PhD at the end of it because that would have opened a lot of doors for him. :-)

But, it really is true that you CAN give the child whatever name you wish. It does not need to be your family name or the father's. I'm not really attached to passing down family names, but many are and you may want to take a few things into consideration before making your decision.

I married young and am glad that we and our son all have the same last name. But, the reason is just a practical one. It is just more convenient. I have friends who kept their individual names. It is just awkward addressing envelopes to them and we cannot refer to the whole family as the 'Smith' family. Their children were given the father's last name, so people who meet the mother through the children are constantly saying, "Oh you must be Mrs. ........." Then she has to correct them and explain that they are married, but she kept her own name. Call me lazy, but I just never found enough value in my maiden name to bother with all that.

In your case, you may want to think about whether or not you would ever consider marrying the father, how involved the father (and his parents) is/are going to be in your child's life, and whether or not you want the child identifying with him. If the father is being supportive in any way, it might be wise to ask him how he feels about it. Some men (and sometimes their fathers) take a great deal of pride about their children carrying their name. Everyone can see who the mother is, but some men feel somehow disconnected if the child does not have their name. I guess you could say it's a guy thing. But, this may well be a left over tradition from the centuries before we had DNA identification available. When I was a child (long, long ago), a father's name on a birth certificate created legal liability. That is no longer the case.

So, there are practical, day-to-day conveniences to consider if the child is going to be living with you full time. There are relationship and identity issues if the father and his family are going to be involved. But, neither of these considerations helps you make a final decision, then you might just look at the two names and choose the one that is easiest recognize, spell, and/or pronounce.

Keep in mind that teachers and employers are influenced by names. I once read an article about a study they did with teachers. They gave the same paper to a number of teachers for grading. The only difference between the papers was the student's name. The papers with names like John or David at the top consistently received higher grades than papers that carried names like Homer or Tyrell. However much I wish teachers were better than that, prejudices like this do exist. Did you know that Hitler was a very common last name in Germany before WWII? Today you will rarely find even one listing in the phone book under that name. If my last name was Dalmer or Manson, I might consider using another name. If my name was Dalmer and there was some pressing reason to give my son that name, I certainly would not give him a first or middle name that began with a J. Decades ago, in order to avoid the abuses and bigotries of the ignorant, many Jewish families in the US changed their last names, such as from Rosenberg to Rosen or from Goldstein to Goldman. I sure would not be willing to pass down the name Bin Laden right now.

Honestly, if I had felt my husband's family would not have been offended by the idea, I would have suggested that my husband and I use my maiden name for no other reason than people never misspelled my family's name and they constantly misspell his.

So, just think about what matters to you, what might matter to other family members, and most importantly what might matter to your child.

Updated

I was single when I had my first child so I gave him my last name. I used to wonder if it was the right thing to do because my boyfriend constantly asked for his last name to be given. We were 18 at the time and my "women's intuition" told me that he was not my lifelong partner. Several years later I found the man that I married and will spend the rest of my life with. When my son was 7 years old we talked with him about last names and he decided he wanted the same last name as us so my husband wrote a letter to the state saying that he is my son's father and the birth certificate was amended. We added two more boys to the group and it is such a wonderful feeling to see the pride that all of them have in their family name. You can put whatever you want for a name on the birth certificate. This baby is yours and you will know in your heart what will be best for him / her. Even if you seek state aid and paternity is established the birth certificate will be amended to show a father's name but the baby's name won't be changed.

It is solely your choice when you are unmarried. You can list any name you want, you can make one up if you wish. You do not have to list the father's name on the certificate, you can leave it blank. I left it blank because I felt that would have been deserving if he had chosen to be involved and showed up at any time during the pregnancy or delivery, so I have original birth cert's with my name only:) And it does NOT affect filing for a child support order one single bit. Myself and lots of moms I know had no problem with this. Later on, after paternity is established through the courts, the state will automatically amend the birth cert file to reflect the father's name. Even if you are married you can put whatever last name you wish on the birth cert for your child. I have done lots of research on this:)

What ever you write in on the paperwork at the hospital.

Yes, it is whatever you write on the birth certificate that they give you at the hospital to fill out.

You get to pick the last name, as other Moms have said. You cannot list the fathers name without him signing and acknowledgement of paternity. You don't have to put down the Dads last name (as the baby's last name), even if he does acknowledge paternity. If he refuses to sign you will have to prove his paternity through the courts if you want to establish child support.

whatever you put on the birth certificate. You could make up a totally different last name if you want.

How about using both last names, ex: Jeffery Jones-Smith.

You can put whatever you would like but you might want to check into some things. I think (not positive on this) that if you are going to want child support it is better to list the father, although the baby can still have your last name.

I'm not from TX. To the best of my knowledge, it doesn't make any difference from state to state, you name the baby at it's birth and complete the information for the birth certificate.

I'm in NJ but here it is based on what the mother puts on the paperwork. In the hospital the records say baby boy/girl and mom's last name. The mother or both parents fill out the birth certificate form and can choose the name. I'm married and my children have my last name as a middle name and their father's last name (I never legally changed my name but sometimes use the family last name socially). If you are not with the father you can choose if you want to list a father or not on the birth certificate. If you apply for state aid the state may ask you to name a father so you can get child support (and they will have to pay less aid). I'm not sure the exact way that works in your state.

when my son was born they just asked me to write what his name would be on a form. and that was his name. if you have doubts call the hospital you will deliver at.

if I'm not marred to the father of my son do i have to give him his fathers last name or can i give him my