Genealogy Chat

Hi Without going into full details i have a friend who has a relative who was adopted,recently this friends 13 year old daughter was asking why coulnt they just find him,long story to short am i right in thinking that the adopted parents did not nessacarily(sp) have the right to change the christian name(1940's). Thank you Sophia

Anyone can change their name - or their child's name - just by changing it. You don't need any legal procedures at all. I think quite a lot of adopted children would have their names changed - all the people I know who were adopted had their names chosen by the people who adopted them. nell

i think in the vast majority of cases they did so. the exception would be an older child, that was well aware that he had a name, and just his surname would change. jess

When I adopted it was 'suggested' that the forename be changed to give extra anonimity.

Thank you for your replies basically my friend thougt that there were new changes in the law to say that if a birth mother stipulated a specificic christian name than it could not be changed. Please let me know what you think Thanks again Sophia

if there was, i have never heard of it. i was adopted in the early 60's and certainly mine was. i think you find that in some cases birth mothers could stipulate all sorts, but as to if these things were carried out is another matter. a classic is where a young irish mother stipulates that her child go to a good catholic family - sometimes they did , sometimes not

How on earth would anyone police this? The adoption agency would have to check up every year or so to see that the child was still called Fred (or whatever). Nothing to stop Fred informing his mates that his name is Ken and being called Ken in later life. Or deciding to be Freda, for that matter! nell

Hi Thanks for your replies, i thought it was a bit odd but i have had a few 'certain ' reponces that this has happened. Sorry have to go as my little one is not well & calling for me but may i request a futher disscusstion on this?

Curiously, there IS an archaic law (Ecclesiastical, and therefore Common Law) which has never been repealed, which makes it an offence to change your CHRISTIAN name. I heard of this law many years ago and have discussed it with several scholarly people, including the Vicar! There are two schools of thought - one, that the law was passed to deal with a specific individual who changed his Christian name in order to 'pretend' that he was someone else and thereby gain some advantage. The other school of thought says that once a person has been baptised into a Christian Faith, then the name they are given is the name by which God knows them, and it wouldnt do to try to confuse him. The Church will ALWAYS consider that name to be your 'real' one, even if you are ever afterwards known as Tibbykins, the Church, when it talks about you, will refer to you as Elizabeth. As far as I can find out, no-one has ever been prosecuted under this law - it is of course, totally unenforcable. But it remains on the Statute Book as one of those peculiar laws - like the celebration of Christmas is still technically illegal. I have googled but cannot get anywhere, Eccliesiastical Law doesnt seem to be on line! However that may be, Adoption Law overrides any of this. Adoption was intended to be a complete and utter severance of the 'old' life, and a rebirth as a new person into a new life and family. Certainly in the early years of legal Adoption, adoptive parents were encouraged to do anything to pretend that the child was theirs and I wonder how many people went to their graves never even suspecting that they were adopted. The Church went along with the idea that the link to the birth family was severed for ever, so I doubt if it would have kicked up any sort of fuss about a child being given a new Christian name. (Wonder what happened if the child had already been baptised by the birth mother? Anyone know?) Olde Crone

Article on name changes on Wikipedia says - among other things - In the different parts of the United Kingdom, legally speaking, the only generally accessible way to change one's name is by usage and repute. Once you generally use a name and get to be known under this name, it will be your legal name, provided that you do not change your name for fraudulent purposes. In practice, though, one of two documents are necessary to have one's name changed on the files of government bodies and other institutions like e.g. banks: a deed poll or a statutory declaration. The most commonly used instrument is the deed poll, a legal contract binding only a single person -- a Deed of Change of Name. The deed consists of three declarations, committing the person to abandoning their former name, using only the new name and requiring everyone else to use only the new name. The deed is executed by signing, dating and a witness signature. A person's name can be changed as often and whenever they like provided it is not for the purposes of fraud or to deceive. The deed poll is typically prepared by a solicitor, but that is not a condition and it can be witnessed by anyone having sufficient standing to be credible. The deed poll as such is incapable of legally changing a name -- only usage and repute brings that about. In practice it is accepted as evidence of a change of name, however, as it creates a situation that will normally lead to a legal name change, all the more so as the deed poll is in fact sufficient to have one's driving licence, passport, bank card etc. changed immediately -- and once all those documents are changed, there will be 'usage and repute'. *****Except for children who are not older than one year and special cases like re-registration to enter the father's details, adoption or gender reassignment, a name change cannot be recorded in the birth register in England and Wales. Birth certificates will thus continue to indicate the original name only.**** There is no legal requirement to list the name change with any group or body, although it can be entered in the Enrolment Books at the Central Office of the Supreme Court of Deeds. ...There is no restriction on the number of times a person can legally change their name. Where a name change is recorded, birth certificates will show the new name and the original name. Women can in practice have their surname changed to their husband's name on marriage or back to a former name on divorce without a deed poll. Driving licences, passports etc. are routinely changed on simple request and presentation of the marriage certificate or the divorce decree -- and the changed documents then bring about usage and repute. The restrictions on names prevent the acceptance of those containing numbers or non-alphabetic symbols and, probably, the acceptance of a single name or one that is impossible to pronounce. At least, it will be practically impossible to create 'usage and repute' for such a name, as it will not be accepted. Theoretically, an inherited title (Sir, Dame, Lord, Lady, Baron, Baroness, Count, Earl, Countess, Marquess, Marchioness, Duke, Duchess, Prince, Princess, King or Queen) as a first name is possible, but there almost necessarily is a fraudulent purpose then, that prevents a legal name change. A resident of Leeds, originally named Michael Howerd, changed his name by deed poll to 'Yorkshire Bank PLC Are Fascist B*stards' after being charged £20 for a £10 overdraft, according to the The People newspaper of January 22, 1995. When the bank asked him to close his account, he asked them to repay the 69p balance with a cheque made out in his new name. nell

Olde Crone: The notion that the celebration of Christmas in England is illegal is just a myth! Unfortunately it's become one of those things like urban legends that have gained new life on the 'net. The Commonwealth parliament suppressed the celebration of Christmas in the mid-seventeenth century, but the legislation was formally rescinded after the Restoration of 1660.

Andrew Not wishing to doubt my betters, LOL, but where did you get that info? I am interested, because as you say, this is something which has passed into the realms of 'everybody knows that!' Olde Crone

Well seeing as christmas gets more expensive every year i'm going legal then. Bah Humbug Glen