Do the child’s middle and last names change upon adoption?

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The first and last name are inextricably linked with a person’s personality, and therefore the Constitution (Article) and the Civil Code (Article) of the Russian Federation guarantee citizens the right to the protection of personal data.

In addition, the surname, first name, and patronymic allow you to maintain connections with kinship.

After adoption or adoption, affiliation with the kinship changes: the kinship connection with the blood parents is lost, and in return a kinship ties arise with strangers who have been accepted into their family (Clause 1 of Article 137 of the RF IC).

Therefore, the question inevitably arises about saving or changing personal data .

Changing a child's data upon adoption

The result of adoption is the creation of a new family. Strangers and someone else's child become official relatives.

Expert opinion

Stanislav Evseev

Lawyer. Experience 12 years. Specialization: civil, family, inheritance law.

In the event of the birth of a baby, the mother and father independently choose his name and determine his surname (if the spouses have different surnames). The child being adopted already has personal information.

Art. 139 of the RF IC provides for the possibility of maintaining the secret of family structure. But this is impossible if the minor has other data. For this purpose, the legislator has provided the opportunity to change the adoptee's last name, first name, patronymic and date of birth.

The rules for changing each personal data are established by the Family Code of the Russian Federation and the Federal Law of 1997 No. 143.

A prerequisite for changing data is the initiative of the adoptive parent. He must include this requirement in the claim. If the citizen did not indicate that the data needs to be changed and a new full name and date of birth, then the court will retain his data for the minor (Article 134 of the RF IC). You cannot go to court again to make changes.

Information about changes in personal data is indicated in the court decision. After entering into legal force, the court, within 3 days, transfers the decision to the civil registry office at the place where the baby’s birth was registered.

Changing a child's last name, first name or full name

Changing a child's name or full name (including last and patronymic) features of the procedure depend on the age of the child (under 14 years old, from 14 to 18 years old, over 18 years old). The issue of changing a child’s name is regulated by:

— Article 58 “The child’s right to a first name, patronymic and last name” and Article 59 “Changing the child’s first and last name” of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

— Article 58 of the Federal Law of November 15, 1997 N 143-FZ “On Acts of Civil Status”.

Additional practice: Ruling of the RF Armed Forces in case No. 18-KG19-125 of December 3, 2021. https://legalacts.ru/sud/opredelenie-sudebnoi-kollegii-po-grazhdanskim-delam-verkhovnogo-suda-rossiiskoi-federatsii-ot-03122019-n-18-kg19-125/

A change of name is subject to state registration with the civil registry office on the basis of an application. An application for a change of name (full name) must be considered by the registry office within one month from the date of submission of the application. Clause 2 of Article 60 of the Federal Law of November 15, 1997 N 143-FZ “On acts of civil status”.

The change of name is carried out by the civil status authority at the place of residence or at the place of state registration of birth of the person wishing to change the surname, first name and (or) patronymic. Clause 2 of Article 58 Federal Law of November 15, 1997 N 143-FZ “On Civil Status Acts”.

It should be taken into account that changing the First Name (Last Name) of a child after he or she reaches the age of 10 years requires the consent of the child himself!

Clause 5 of Article 59 of the RF IC “A change in the name and (or) surname of a child who has reached the age of 10 years can only be made with his consent.”!

Before the child reaches the age of 14 years, a change of the child’s surname (name) can be carried out by one of the parents: clause 2 of Article 59 of the RF IC “if the parents live separately and the parent with whom the child lives wants to assign his surname, authority Guardianship and trusteeship resolves this issue depending on the interests of the child and taking into account the opinion of the other parent. Taking into account the parent’s opinion is not necessary if it is impossible to establish his whereabouts, deprivation of his parental rights, recognition as incompetent, as well as in cases of parental evasion without good reason from raising and maintaining the child.”

That is, at the request of one of the parents (with whom the child lives), the civil registration authority registers changes with the consent of the guardianship authorities at the place of registration of the child.

When deciding the issue, the guardianship authority, when considering the application, takes into account the opinion of the second parent, with the exception of the cases listed in paragraph 2 of Article 59 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation. The guardianship authority decides how valid these circumstances are and how much it is in the interests of the child to change his first or last name.

The circumstances under which the opinion of the second parent is excluded, listed in Article 59 of the RF IC, must be confirmed. This position is also expressed in the ruling of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in case No. 18-KG19-125: “Within the meaning of these rules of law, changing a child’s surname on the basis of an application from one of the parents without taking into account the opinion of the other is possible only in cases provided for by law, namely: when the impossibility of establishing the location of the parent, which is confirmed by a certificate from the internal affairs bodies about the search for the citizen; upon deprivation of his parental rights (based on a court decision); if he is declared incompetent (based on a court decision); in cases of parental evasion without good reason from raising and maintaining a child, which can be confirmed by statements on the search for the alimony payer, documents from internal affairs bodies on the initiation of a criminal case for malicious evasion of alimony payments, a court verdict in such a case and other evidence, and a change of the child’s name until he reaches the age of fourteen - only by joint decision of both parents.

Thus, taking into account the opinion of the second parent is mandatory, and in order to overcome his objection to changing the surname and first name of a minor child, it is necessary to provide such arguments that will indicate the need to carry out these actions in the interests of children who, by virtue of paragraph 1 of Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child priority is given."

!! Clause 2 of Article 58 of the RF IC “the patronymic is assigned to the child by the name of the father.” Up to 14 years of age changes only in case of adoption. The court's decision.

When the child reaches 14 years of age, the procedure changes. Clause 3 of Article 58 of the Federal Law of November 15, 1997 N 143-FZ “On Acts of Civil Status”.

From the age of 14, a child can submit an application to change his name (full name). Upon receipt of the passport, since the child will have to perform all subsequent actions upon presentation of an identification document, which is a passport, the child can change any part of the full name (first name, last name, patronymic). The law does not prevent you from changing your entire name, but you will need to indicate the reason in your application. The law does not oblige the child to explain whether this reason is valid or not.

A minor can change any part of his name only with the consent of his parents - even after 14 years of age. The child submits the application himself, and the consent of his parents is attached to it. Parents write their consent at the registry office or have it certified by a notary, i.e. the consent of the mother and father is required.

If consent from the parent cannot be obtained, the child can go to court. The court, by its decision, changes the name, the document is submitted to the registry office.

A child can change his name (full name) after reaching 14 years of age and up to 18 years of age without parental consent if he is recognized as fully capable (if he marries before 18 years of age or goes to work under a contract, is engaged in entrepreneurial activity and then requires emancipation (from 16 years of age Full legal capacity is established by decision of the guardianship authorities with the consent of both parents, or by decision of the Court.

RF Article 27. Emancipation. “A minor who has reached the age of sixteen may be declared fully capable if he works under an employment contract, including a contract, or with the consent of his parents, adoptive parents or guardian is engaged in entrepreneurial activity.”

When a child reaches 18 years of age, he has the right to change his full name without parental consent.

After changing your name, you must change your passport, compulsory medical insurance policy, international passport (if available), SNILS (if available).

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Does middle name change upon adoption?

Art. 134 of the RF IC establishes the procedure for changing the patronymic name of an adopted minor. If the adoptive parent has not made such a demand, then the middle name formed on behalf of the blood father is retained. If the mother of the minor was not married or paternity was not established, then the child retains the patronymic given to him by the mother.

Rules for changing patronymics:

1. If a married couple acts as adoptive parents, at their request, the patronymic name can be formed on behalf of the adoptive parent.
2. If a single woman acts as an adoptive parent, she can keep the minor’s middle name or change it to any other.
3. If an intra-family adoption is carried out, the natural parent must give the adoptive parent consent to change the son/daughter’s data.

Example . Roman filed an application to the court to adopt his stepson. His wife agreed to change her son's surname and patronymic. The boy did not know that the adoptive father was not his blood father, so it was impossible to question the minor in court. The court took into account the circumstances and satisfied the applicant's demands.

The child's consent to change his name.

As mentioned above, the adoption procedure for a child who has reached the age of ten requires the consent of the latter. In addition, it is necessary to obtain the consent of a minor over the age of ten years if it is necessary to change the name, patronymic or surname. For example, in the case of adoption by a stepfather, the child cannot be assigned the surname of the adoptive parent and the patronymic of the stepfather's name if there is no voluntary consent of the adoptee to make changes. The will of the child, expressed before the adoption case is considered in court, must be confirmed by the corresponding conclusions of the guardianship and trusteeship authorities.

However, in some cases, when it comes to maintaining the secrecy of adoption, the judge has the authority to make a decision to change the name of the adopted person without obtaining the consent of a minor who has reached the age of ten. Changing biographical data without obtaining consent is possible for reasons of maintaining the secrecy of adoption and ensuring the right to privacy. Consent for changing the name of young children is not required.

Author of the article

Rules for determining a surname

Rules for changing full name the adopted child is contained in Art. 134 RF IC .

Example . Upon marriage, Irina decided to leave her last name. After marriage, the couple decided to adopt the baby. When submitting the application, a dispute arose about what data to assign to the adoptee. The couple decided to leave this decision to the discretion of the court. Since the lawsuit did not contain a specific surname that should be assigned to the child, the court retained the data of his blood parents.

If the device is issued in relation to a minor over the age of 10 years , then his consent will be a prerequisite. Otherwise, the court will violate the child’s right to personal data.

As an exception, there is a situation where a minor lives for several years in the family of adoptive parents and considers them his parents. In this case, the judge does not involve the child in the process.

In case of cancellation of adoption, citizens have the right to demand that the minor's surname be changed back.

Changing the birth certificate

3 days after the court decision comes into force, the registration procedure is carried out (in accordance with Chapter V of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 143 “On acts of civil status”):

• an adoption record is created with the child’s personal data: new (if they are changed by a court decision) or old (if they remain unchanged);
• a certificate is issued ;
• are made to the birth certificate.

Is it possible to change a child's last name without adoption?

The right to change the personal data of a minor is vested in:

• blood parent, with the consent of the guardianship department, - in relation to a child under 10 years ;
• blood parent, with the consent of the guardianship department and the minor - in relation to a son/daughter aged 10 to 14 years ;
• a minor, with the consent of a guardian or blood parent, between the ages of 14 and 18 years .

Important! Changing the surname of a ward aged 14 to 18 years with the data of the trustee is not a reason for the emergence of a family relationship between the minor and the legal representative.

The law prohibits a guardian from changing the personal data of a ward. Identification of the fact of everyday changes in data can be interpreted as a violation of children's rights. The exception is when the guardian plans to adopt the child in the future.

Example . Tatyana was the guardian of the minor Polina. The girl was in care from infancy. The woman knew that if adopted, she would lose the right to guardianship benefits. Therefore, I decided to postpone the registration until the girl needs to go to 1st grade. However, at home the ward was called Caroline and her birthday was celebrated on a different date. During the trial, the court granted the request to change personal data. However, the date of birth was retained.

Registration of adoptive parents as parents of an adopted child

At the request of the adoptive parents, the court may decide to record the adoptive parents in the birth register as the parents of the child adopted by them.

To make such an entry in relation to an adopted child who has reached the age of ten years, his consent is required, except for cases where the child lived in the family of the adoptive parent and considers him to be his parent.

The need to make such a record is indicated in the court decision on the adoption of a child.

The court, having granted the application for adoption, may refuse to satisfy the request of the adoptive parents (adoptive parent) to register them as the parents (parent) of the child in the record of the act of his birth, as well as to change the date and place of birth of the child.

How to change the middle name of a child under 14 years old

In some cases, after a divorce, a woman wants to change not only her surname, but also her patronymic.

This is only possible under the following circumstances:

• The mother remarried and the child was officially adopted by the new father.
• The natural father has been deprived of parental rights.
• There is a dash in the “patronymic” column on the birth certificate.
• The husband challenged his paternity.
• Information about the natural father is included in the certificate only from the words of the mother.

To change the child’s middle name, the mother must contact the guardianship authorities, and permission from both parents will be required.

But there are cases when you can change your middle name without the consent of the other party:

• The spouse is officially declared incompetent.
• The father or mother has been deprived of parental rights by court.
• It has been proven that the father does not take part in raising a common child.

To prove all of the above cases, supporting documents will be required.

What to do?

1. "Get over it." Try to get used to it, convince yourself that the name is not so bad. Read about famous and talented people with the same name. Remember good friends with this name and think that your child may be similar to them in certain qualities.
2. You can contact an astrologer and ask to check whether the name is suitable for the child. But the opposite story may be true here if the astrologer determines that the name, on the contrary, is not suitable. In any case, if you trust astrology, this option will help you get rid of doubts.

Anna Gor, astrologer @aannagor:

“A person’s name carries a lot of information, being a kind of calling card in a person’s life. Often parents name their baby after one of their relatives. Such an approach, on the one hand, is a symbol of family unity and the strength of traditions, and on the other hand, it is an obstacle to the child’s future self-realization.

The astrological approach to choosing a name is as follows: a natal chart of the child is drawn up, and strong and weak planets are determined on its basis. Strong people are a competitive advantage in a person’s life; they give strength to overcome difficulties, resolve issues and produce results. Each zodiac sign corresponds to a specific letter. The astrologer sees which letter brings happiness, success, fulfillment, satisfaction to a person, and which letter brings the opposite.

As a result, during an individual consultation, I give parents a sign with letters and a description of their influence. It is recommended to use positive and neutral letters in the name and avoid letters with negative influences.”

1. Informally replace the name with one that is consonant, but more pleasant to you. An example was already given above: Alla was changed to Alice. In the same way, Aleftina can easily be transformed into Alya, Elvira into Elya, Gregory into Gosha or even Yegor.
2. Change your name officially. If none of the above proposed scenarios worked, and you still want to change your name on documents, then you need to do this as soon as possible. Don't panic: changing your name is not as difficult a process as you might think. But don’t delay it either. Until 7 months, a child does not recognize his name due to the frequent use of endearing nicknames. Then the process of self-determination begins. Try to make it before this time.