News item | 29-06-2022 | 08:30
A temporary transitional arrangement should make it possible for children who have already been born to bear the surnames of both parents. Today, Minister Weerwind for Legal Protection is sending a Memorandum of Amendment to the House of Representatives, which will regulate this. A 2020 public poll by the Ministry of Justice and Security shows that 32% of people think it should be possible for parents to give their children the names of both parents. After introducing a bill to regulate this, many parents wrote to the ministry that they were disappointed that the law would only apply to newborns.
“The wish of many parents to give the children in their family a double name is great. We are responding to this with this transitional arrangement.”
says Minister Weerwind
A bill had previously been introduced that regulates the double surname for newborns. The double surname can consist of up to two names and is written without a hyphen. For example, parents can choose: Jansen, De Boer, Jansen De Boer and De Boer Jansen. The amendment submitted today still introduces a temporary transitional arrangement, allowing parents of still fairly young children (first child born on or after January 29, 2019) to give their children a double surname. The transitional arrangement will apply for one year and is accessible if both parents wish to make use of it. If the parents do not come to a joint statement, the children will keep the surname they have.
Double surname bill
For the group of people who already have a double or plural surname, such as Van Bergen Henegouwen or Korthals Altes, this name is seen as a single surname. If they wish, they can also give their child a double surname, such as Van Bergen Henegouwen De Boer.
For adopted children it will be possible to choose a combination of their surname at birth and the names of their adoptive parents. However, here too a maximum of two names in total applies. In these cases, this choice does not automatically apply to each subsequent child in the family.
A double surname also fits better with people who have a different surname in another country because of multiple nationalities. Sometimes even a name change procedure is necessary to unify their surnames. That will no longer be necessary.
The choice of a double surname is not mandatory. If the parents do not make a choice, a child born out of wedlock or partnership will automatically be given the surname of the birth mother. In the case of a marriage or registered partnership, the child is given the surname of the father or co-mother without the choice of the parents.