name change dilemma/birth certificate question

ok so i have been married a year and 3 mths and still haven't officially changed my last name. I really wanted to do it before the babies came...but I am torn for a few reasons.

If I change it now, I have to change everything over with work, insurance, doctors, etc. It is a big hassle. Also, since everyone knows me at work with my maiden name I am not sure if it is worth it to change my name for the next 2 mths at work when I don't plan to come back anyway.

so i started thinking I would wait bc it isn't like the babies would know that my last name is different for the first few mths of their life. However, now I am worried that my maiden name would be on their birth certificate.

so now I brought my paperwork to work today to maybe go to SS office at lunch and try to do the name change. (Not sure when I could get to the DMV). But I am so torn!

Any advice on what you think I should do? Can the name on the birth certificate be changed at a later date or would it always say my maiden name?


tia!

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

If I recall correctly, it doesn't matter because your maiden name is on the birth certificate anyway, I don't think that my kids' BC have my married name on them I could be wrong, though, I hope someone else jumps in here!

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

I think, I'm not 100% though, that no matter what, the birth certificate will say "mother maiden name" (even if you did change your last name) and "father his last name" and then when it comes to the baby, you can have them just put "Baby dad's last name". So I don't think you really have to worry about your last name right now. It may be an issue if the baby is going on your insurance though. You may want to check with them.

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

ok thanks!

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

On the BC -- under "Mother" it will list your name as "Current Last Name" and yes, if you haven't changed it, it will show your maiden name.

Underneath that it shows "Name on Birth Certificate" and if you had changed your name, this is where the maiden name shows up.

So if you don't change your name, your child will see the BC later on with your maiden name as your listed name.

In the grand scheme of things, it's not that big a deal IMO, but it's whatever you are comfortable with.

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

The posters above are correct. Your married name is not on the birth certificate, your maiden name is.

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

I changed my name with DMV and SS and never changed it at work...my HR person told me that as long as you're not trying to "defraud" anyone, you can legally use two names.

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

Posted by letsmakeababy


ok that makes sense that both names would be on there. Thanks! I know it's not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things but for some reason I just feel like it's important for me to have the same last name as the babies. I guess I should just deal with the hassel of changing the name....my sister just made a good point that it will be easier to do now than having to lug 2 babies to the dmv and ss office if I wait to do it after!

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

i just realized i have my birth certificate with me....it says my dads name and then maiden name of mother. So my mom's married name wasn't on there. I guess I am worrying over nothing

either way i guess i should just do the name change now bc i want to do it eventually anyway.

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

Posted by headoverheels


I honestly don't think my married name is on my kids BC

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

Posted by MrsPJB2007

Posted by headoverheels


I honestly don't think my married name is on my kids BC

That's so weird if it isn't!

I'm going by the Certificate of Live Birth that I received from the town clerk. Maybe when you filled out the paperwork when your kids were born you didn't put the married name? They go by the info from the forms they give you at the hospital.

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

I've got you beat. I will be married 5 years this coming November.

I just changed my name back in April. DS was born back in September.

When I filled out DS's BC I told them that I was planning on changing my name, but I hadn't gotten around to it.

They told me that was fine, that I could put my married name down (even though it wasn't official), however, I would have no choice but to go change it after.

She said I would have problems trying to get official documents for him i.e. a passport, since the mother's name would be different than my SS card.

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

Here's my experience when I had DS.

I had not yet changed my name. On the birth certificate paperwork at the hospital, we filled out all the info. DH signed it too. We got DS' birth certificate and the spot for father's name read:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


I was like, ***? Why are there a bunch of "X"s there instead of DH's name?????????????????????

I was so upset, so was DH. The kicker is that our insurance is through DH's job and he needs to suppy a birth certificate within 30 days showing his name as the father!

Needless to say, we had to request a correction. Turns out, since my last name was not the same as DH's legally, they needed an AFFIDAVIT from him saying we were either married, or that he was the father... something like that.

It took like 3 months to get everything sorted out with the birth certificate and it was A HUGE pain in the a$$. I believe if we had just supplied a copy of our marriage certificate with the paperwork at the hospital, all of that would have been avoided. The funny thing is, I GAVE them a copy of my marriage certificate and they said they did not need it, it wouldn't be a problem. Well, it was.

So keep that in mind.

Other than that, DS was born in NYC and the birth certificates here do NOT show mother's current name. It only shows mother's maiden name. I was also born in NYC and my birth certificate is the same way. Different towns on LI might be different though, like MrsPJB stated above, so keep that in mind.

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

I went through the same thing a few months ago. I would definitely do it now if you know you want to change it because your sister is right- it will be much harder later when you have two babies to lug around with you.

As far as work I had my HR people change my name on my tax documents and stuff, but asked them to leave my name the same in the employee directory and email and all that so I didn't confuse people.

Once you get past SS, DMV and passport everything else is pretty easy and really doesn't need to be changed right away.

Good luck!

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

I don't have DD's BC in front of me, so I can't speak to whether hers has my maiden or married name.

I do know that the certificates are issued by the TOWN clerk, so it is possible they are different in each town.

I may have been pregnant while changing my name because we were married in October and got pregnant with DD at the end of November....

I STILL use my maiden name at work My maiden name is easy to say and spell and is only 6 letters, my married name is 12 letters and difficult to say/spell. I didn't want to have to deal with spelling it a million times a day in giving my email address, plus a lot of my associates at the vendors/banks/etc know me under my maiden name.

My paychecks and insurance is under my married name, but my email / phone / etc is all under my maiden name.

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

thanks ladies! i decided to just suck it up and do it bc I wanted to change it eventually anyway. I left work and went to the nearby ss office....changed the name and was out of there in under 25 minutes!

now i still have to go to the dmv and do all the rest of the changing but at least it is a step!

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

I am in your shoes too! By the time the baby is here I will be married 3 years and I haven't changed my name. I'm still not 100% sure that I want to change it, but I know that I probably should because of the baby. Plus, I did put DH's name on our marriage certificate and I use his last name with all my doctors because I'm on his insurance. I guess I should just suck it up too and get it done before the baby is here!

(Though I know quite a few women who haven't changed their names, even after children!)

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question

Re: name change dilemma/birth certificate question