tom_123

Hi there,

I was wondering what mothers middle name should appear on a newborn certificate (born in CA)? My wife changed her middle name and surname when we were married.

At the hospital they asked for the mothers full maiden name so we gave:
firstname, maiden middle, maiden surname. This is how it appears on the birth certificate.

At first I thought this was correct, but I'm confused on whether the middle name should be married middle name or maiden middle name? On the birth certificate the labels are shown as:

Name of Mother/Parent - First
Middle
Last - Birth Name

Its not clear what Middle should be.

Thanks in advance

tom

Pulaski

For what it's worth I would have done what you did. I'm not sure why a name acquired by marriage could be considered to be any part of a woman's maiden name.

Yorkieabroad

I'm with Pulaski - I think you've done it right. Thats what we did at least. From your question, I'm guessing your wife may be Asian? My wife is Chinese, so when we got married, she combined her first and middle names into 1 married first name, her maiden last name became her married middle, and her married last became the same as mine. The kids birth certificates show all 3 of her maiden names (first/middle/last) as she would have signed them before marriage.

jeffreyhy

What are the state and local requirements in your area for a parent's name on a birth certificate? Ask the government office where birth certificates are registered, not hospital staff.

The hospital staff apparently believes that the mother's name should be her maiden name, but from what you've written here the birth certificate itself does not indicate that the name shown is the maiden name.

If the requirement does not require maiden name, you might want to apply for a revised birth certificate that shows the mother's name the way the mother wants it to be shown.

For what it's worth (nil, because in your area things may be done differently) my birth certificate specifies that my mother's name is "Full maiden name".

Regards, JEff

MarylandNed

Why is it not clear? You were asked for full MAIDEN name and that's what you gave.

jeffreyhy

It's not clear because what's shown on the government-issued birth certificate does not support what hospital staff asked for. Since this appears to concern the OP, he should clarify what is required with the government office where births are registered.

My guess, however, is that the hospital staff was correct and the mother's name should be her full maiden name as was shown on her birth certificate (unless subsequently legally changed by some means other than marriage, such as by adoption or by petition to a court).

Regards, JEff

tom_123

Thanks for the responses.

I tried calling the government office and was redirected to a generic local government helpline that deals with all services.

The person I spoke to said it should be name before marriage but when I specifically asked about middle name she just repeated what she said earlier. I don't think she knew for sure.

I think I will have to take a trip in person.

tom