Would it be in the best interest of the child, to the fathers last name?

Volks

What I think would be in the best interest of the children is for the mother to close her legs and stop having kids by different men.

That aside, it really doesn't matter if the child has the father's last name or not. Hypen it if you want to. The most important thing regarding the father is that he be in the child's life. The name means nothing if he's not around.

jazz

Best interest? well I am not sure if it will make a differences what name the child is given, I would say what is most important is that the father is in the child's life. . . .That the child feels loved and wanted by the father.

Glow

If I had a bunch of different kids by a bunch of different men... and if I had custody of all of them, I'd give all of my children my last name.

Lucy

It depends if the man is there to give that child his name. I think it's a great injustice to carry the name of a man who denies you.

julieisbest

If the mother doesn't want to marry the father and has primary custody of the child, the baby should have her last name.

hellokerri2000

Only if the child's father is an active part of their life and plans on remaining an active part. No point in giving the kid the dad's last name if he's never going to be around.

1 kidney boy

Well it really doesn't matter that much either way.

But if I had to choose, it would be easier for the child to share the last name of the parent who has primary custody.

If for no other reason that in an emergency the one with primary custody will be the one who teachers, doctors, police will try to call. If little Billy Smith broke his leg at school the teachers it would cause less confussion if the person they need to call is Ms. Smith, not Ms. Jones.

It's a small reason, but if I had to choose one over the other I would choose that, and that would be the deciding reason.

Nicole

my son is 4 and his father and i are not married (still together) he has his fathers last name. I did not mind giving him his fathers last name because his dad loves him more than anything and will be there for him regardless of whether or not we are still together. However, my son always ask me why my last name is different than his and daddy's. Thats a hard one to swallow.

vickyk

I am a single mom and my daughter carries my last name so it's different from her dad. Since she lives with me I think it makes more sense that me and her have same last name. She only sees her dad every other weekend.

Sassy

If the mother has primary custody of the child, I think the child should get her last name.

Rick M

I think that the child should have the same last name as their siblings. This avoids any confusion or embarrassment that may ensue as they go thruogh the school system.

paintedhorse30

Unless the the last name is Rockefeller, I don't see the big deal. Pregnancy is a bad reason to just get married.

No. Not necessarily. A name doesn't mean a whole lot.

need some direction

unless shes planning on marrying the guy eventually i would give the child her last name. traditiions aren't everything

jemmamomma

I don't really get why the father's last name would be any better than the mother's unless they are married and the whole family shares the name. That's a bit chauvinistic to me.

schneidmanbabe 09

Yes it would for a simple reason of child support... if the child has the mothers last name she will have a hard time getting child support for the child and have to go thru a dna process and it will get messy... with the father being on the birth certificate and providing he is the father she can claim child support to help raise this child...

Dustin

I have a cousin that had his father's last name and his mom did not marry his father.

His father turned out to be a loser and eventually his mom married my uncle. When the child was old enough, he asked to change his last name to my uncle's last name because my uncle had raised him for most of the kid's life......so they went and changed it.

Why not give the kid his father's last name and if he doesn't like it in the future, then he has that option of changing it.

Nickey

I think it just helps the child with his/her identity. My two oldest children both had their father's last name before we were married. I did that so that he could put them on his insurance at his job. Not sure if the last name mattered or not but I knew eventually we would get married and so it just made sense that they had their dad's last name.

coralreef227

Whether she marries or not does not determine her qualifications as a mother. The father of the first child didn't flinch when he lay with her, impregnated her, then separated from her. How hypocritical!

netsbrood

Can't really understand the question..It looks like you wrote would it be in the best interst of the child to give him the fathe's last name. This really is a personal decision. You need to think about your intentions with the mother for the future. I think personally it is good for a child to have the father's last name even if you and the mother are not going to stay together just for the simple fact that when the child get's older he will know his father was there. He will know that you and his mom di have a relationshiop at one point. As adults we learn that we get our last name from a man or our father and if we share the name of our mother there is definantly going to be questions as to why.....

Winter is over... yay!

The last name isn't anything of "best interest". Where I'm from, as long as the father SIGNS the birth certificate, it is "his". Even if it's the mother's last name, his, or both, it doesn't matter, nor does it matter for child support.

I gave my son my (ex) husband's last name, even if we were separated. Now, I regret, since I have full legal and physical custody, yet my son will grow up with a different name than mine, and be associated with... thieves, wife-beaters, violent, indecent people... *great*.

If she isn't with you and doesn't want to marry you and has custody of the child, why in the world would she give it your last name, she's already having another and from what I see, she's giving the 2nd one her last name, so they'll grow up not wondering why their siblings don't have the same name.

April W

It's never a good idea to get married just because there's a child on the way. I'm hoping that they're not living together, however, as that would complicate things even more. In the ideal world, the mother would have stayed married to the first child's father and providing a stable environment for that child... but that's not going to happen. Now, what the mother should do is to focus on the family she has and do what's best for them--stay away from men until she knows what she wants to do and then find a suitable husband and father and WAIT until she's married to have another child (which also includes abstaining from anything that might result in another child... it's not fair to the kids.)

The Mrs.

If the guy is not going to be around then I think the baby should have the mother's last name.

loveisalosinggame

yes it would

voice of reason

The children don't need their parents to be married to have their last name. It would be ideal if both siblings could have the same last name. Are you asking for the second child? I assume the first child probably has her last name and she wants the same last name for both children?
Simple and no need for marriage to give the second oth the father's last name and the mother's last name but instead of the father's name being last as is traditional you give the mother's last name last as they do in Argentina so the child can have both parents names. If the registrars office or wherever you go to register the child does not allow it just give the child the fathers last name as one of it;s names or the middle name..

Chickadee

If the parents aren't together...I think the child should have whomever's last name the child is with most. If the child has to go to school and you're the parent that always signs the papers....let you too have to same last name! Makes it easier on everyone!

Miz D

The last name isn't nearly as important as the man being a true father to his child. A casual relationship resulting in the birth of a child is a tough way for a baby to enter this world. Children need the love and support of both parents. Think of what is best for the child and do it.

kvpoteat

just depends can complicate things in the long run. for both parents when it comes to legal issues.

Vernon C

Last names are important because it gives a sense of continuance. There may be a need to know the fathers medical history because some illnesses are genetic in nature.It is unfortunate that this woman is having children by multiple fathers, and none of them holding any legal rights or apparent support, but that happens a lot in this century. Still, it will be important for the child to be able to trace his/her roots.

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