Fiona in the Var is getting married in October to a toulonais and says she'd like her children to bear both their names. She's heard that "everything to do with names is complicated" and she asks me to comment. 

What she has heard used to be true - both in respect of changing or modifying first and family names - but in recent years things have been made much easier. According to the law of 2002, parents can choose for their offspring to bear the name of the father or mother - or both in whichever order is preferred (MacTavish-Babuinelli or Babuinelli-MacTavish, for example).

If only one parent "recognises" a child then normally it takes that parent's name; if the other parent later comes on the scene the usual choice of name is available although if the child is by then 13 years old it must consent to the name.

From Riviera Reporter 122, Aug/Sept 2007

Comments (1)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/Hide comments

Show/Hide comment form