Ontario Child Surname Options
July 2, 2016 5:27 PM Subscribe
What are my options for my child's surname in Ontario?
I am unable to find an official Ontario-specific answer on this...
My husband and I are considering surname options for our child.
In Ontario, what are the legal choices for a child's surname?
One of my middle names is actually my mother's maiden name. I would like to know if using one of my middle names is an allowable surname for my child in Ontario, as I would like to carry on my mother's maiden name.
I am unable to find an official Ontario-specific answer on this...
My husband and I are considering surname options for our child.
In Ontario, what are the legal choices for a child's surname?
One of my middle names is actually my mother's maiden name. I would like to know if using one of my middle names is an allowable surname for my child in Ontario, as I would like to carry on my mother's maiden name.
No symbols or numerals. That's it.
There are plenty of places in the world with restrictions on what you can name your children but Ontario is not one of them.
posted by mhoye at 6:04 PM on July 2, 2016
There are plenty of places in the world with restrictions on what you can name your children but Ontario is not one of them.
posted by mhoye at 6:04 PM on July 2, 2016
There used to be the rule that the name had to be either one of the parent's surnames, a hyphenated surname of both, or a valid cultural reason for an exception (such as Icelandic names or Sri Lankan names). A friend of mine had her (now two year old's) surname rejected as it was a combination of the parent's names but she reapplied as a cultural exception. I do not see the rule listed anywhere however, so hopefully it has been completely eliminated.
posted by saucysault at 6:23 PM on July 2, 2016
posted by saucysault at 6:23 PM on July 2, 2016
Best answer: So, there's actually a change that's happened to the Vital Statistics Act -- which is the governing legislation in this area -- this year. You can see the prior legislation, updated with the new rules on the e-laws site here. It appears that under the new law, as long as the parents agree, they may give the child whatever name they wish, while previously they were limited to one or the other surname or a combination.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:12 PM on July 2, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 7:12 PM on July 2, 2016 [5 favorites]
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posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:59 PM on July 2, 2016 [1 favorite]