More than 7,000 Belgians changed their surname after a simplified procedure, father’s name remains most popular at birth

Last year, a total of 7,188 people in Belgium had their surname changed. That is more than a sixfold increase compared to the 1,152 changes in 2023. This was evident from figures from the FPS Justice on Thursday. The significant increase is the result of a simplified procedure that was introduced on July 1. In addition, 80 percent of children born in 2024 still received their father’s surname.

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