Choosing a last name for your child

Parents can choose together which surname their first child will have. You report the chosen surname to the municipality.

Contact

Approach

This is how you choose a different last name for your first child:

Make an appointment at the municipality for you and the other parent.
Please both bring a valid form of identification to the appointment.
You choose the surname at the latest when registering the birth. But you can already submit your name choice before your child is born. Because the mother has to come to the appointment, this is often easier than when registering the birth. Because you have to register the birth within 3 working days after the birth. It can be annoying for the mother to come to the town hall.

Cost

Rates 2025

The choice of surname upon recognition is free.
€17.10 for an extract of the recognition.

Description

You can choose whether your first child will have the surname of the mother or the father. You can also give your first child two surnames. One name from each parent. The order does not matter. Each subsequent child from the same relationship will have the same surname or surnames as the first child.

You are married or have a registered partnership

Your child will automatically receive the father's surname. If you want that, you do not have to pass anything on. Do you want to give your child the mother's surname, or a combination of the mother's and father's surnames? Then you must pass that on.

You are not married and do not have a registered partnership

Your child will automatically receive the mother's surname. Do you want to give the child the father's surname? Or a combination of the mother's and father's surnames? Then the father must have acknowledged the child. Acknowledging a child and choosing a surname can be done at the same time.

Does the child have two mothers or two fathers? Or are you adopting a child? Then look at Rijksoverheid .nl for the rules.