Genealogy Chat

When a person is adopted do they have to change their name? For example I have a P Cassidy (Adopted son) Adoption Family name is Gray. Would he be P Cassidy or P Cassidy Gray. or P Gray.

If I wanted to try and find out about him what name would I look under?

Thanks for your help.

Jane

Jane

Hi Jane,

It normally depends on the age of the person adopted, if it is a baby, then the whole name tends to be changed, if the child is older sometimes the first name is kept to avoid confusion, however, I know of an 8 year old who changed her first name as well because she did not like it :O(

If this was on a census, there was no formal adoption.
Sometimes a family took on a child, - maybe with a distant family connection and the said child was classed as an adopted son, keeping their birth name.

Gwyn

IT was in a newspaper article re a death/ funeral. It was a list of people who attended the funeral.. Dads name was John Gray, it was his funeral. and son P Cassidy attended the funeral.

Thanks for helping Sheila and Gwyn

Jane

I do not know anything about P. Cassidy. I think his name is Peter but I do not know for sure. The funeral took place in 1943.

Jane

Hi Jane,

Maybe his Mother never married the Father, or she may have remarried later on and her new husband formally adopted the child , hence his surname would change....

Sheila

Thanks for helping. I have a lot of work to do with this particular line. Libby was a great help yesterday. Hopefully the person i emailed yesterday, who has links with this family, may be able to help me. Lets hope he gets back to me.

Thanks again

Jane

The child gets registered by its natural mother in her name.Married or single.It then has to go through a court where another certificate is issured under the adoptive name. Annie

Marcus,

In UK. births a child registered to a single parent would normally be as,,

Smith---Anyone,-------------maiden name of mother-- Smith ,,,,,,could denote a single parent..at least 8 times out of 10,,,,,,,,