baby names

[lovingfather]

how common is it for a married couple in finland to give the child the mothers last name as opposed to the fathers?

[Hank W.]

Well, see now that depends totally on if the mother keeps her name when married or not. the thumb rule is the baby gets the mothers name, unless the mother is married, when they can choose. But automagically its the mothers name.

[lovingfather]

thanks hank.........ok then how common is it for a baby to get the mother name if parents are married in finland over the fathers name.

[strawberry]

Hiya,

Hank's right: if you're not married (I believe you are...?), baby will automatically be given Mum's surname AND Mum will automatically be a sole custodian... Non-married Dads have to declare paternity...

In married parents' case it's purely a question of choice: parents choose not only the given names but the which surname the child will have. As to how common it is to have Mum's surname: probably not very common but then not at all unheard of... I presume Mum's surname is chosen if it's fairly rare, for example, and parents wish the surname to live on. Other reasons may well apply, too. Good luck with your choice...

[Vera]

thanks hank.........ok then how common is it for a baby to get the mother name if parents are married in finland over the fathers name.

I don't know if anyone keeps any statistics on that, but I've known 4 kids who were born while parents were married and had their mother's last name. I'd say it's rare but not very rare.

BTW, are you asking only about the families where the father keeps his own last name? Because in families where the husband takes the wife's name all the children always have the wife's name too.

[kuusama]

I don't think it's too uncommon for child to take mother's name if she is Finnish and father is not. Some non-Finnish surnames are not so easy for Finns to pronounce so makes life a little easier for kid.

[lovingfather]

my name is LONG so that not that hard she said it was common i did't think so just checking. I know she did that just to help her with custody stuff. and I know already about finlands Bias to men. If woman are = tp men then men are = to woman why are childrena any diffrent to the courts.

[Vera]

my name is LONG so that not that hard she said it was common i did't think so just checking. I know she did that just to help her with custody stuff. and I know already about finlands Bias to men. If woman are = tp men then men are = to woman why are childrena any diffrent to the courts.

I don't think the child's last name will make any difference. Finland, like all the other western countries, tends to be biased against men in custody decisions, but the fact that the kid has her name is not likely to make it worse.

Vera

[strawberry]

my name is LONG so that not that hard she said it was common i did't think so just checking. I know she did that just to help her with custody stuff. and I know already about finlands Bias to men. If woman are = tp men then men are = to woman why are childrena any diffrent to the courts.

I don't think the child's last name will make any difference. Finland, like all the other western countries, tends to be biased against men in custody decisions, but the fact that the kid has her name is not likely to make it worse.

Vera

I'm sorry, longtrav, you're having to go through all that... If it's any consolation, just like Vera, I think that it's not the name that'll be the issue. Honest. None of my business, I know, but I think it was too flipping sly of her to lie like that... It's sad when kids end up piggies in the middle - just don't give up because one day your baby will love you for it!

Anyway, it's undesputable the courts remain biased towards mothers in unclear cases, however, I believe men's status has improved to an extent and even the courts are very much in favour of joint custody. So, unless you're a convicted criminal , hold on to that requirement at the very least.
I do wish you luck - all the best.

[EP]

They are talking about the last name (family name, surname), not the first name(s).