School Changing Child's Name without consent

Humbird

Hello, we have accepted a 1st year place in a Dublin secondary school starting Sept. When I was dropping off paperwork to the school today, the school secretary told me that "they" had been talking about my child's last name which "they" think is a "mouthful" and they want to shorten it, and she asked which of the double-barrell names could be dropped. I said that I didn't want either of the names dropped .... she said "we'll see ...." ..... so after a pause I said that the double-barrell names had been his since birth, that they were legally his name, and also his names by common usage ..... she paused and said that well, it was a really long name when his first name was used with the double-barrell surname and that it was quite common for the school to drop one of the double-barrell names of other pupils, regardless of whether it was their legal/common-use name .... I told her that both parents would be unhappy if there was an attempt to drop part of the child's name. The silence then hung in the air till I left and the matter was not resolved.

I am SURE that a school can't just independently change a child's name without parents consent can they? I phoned the Dept. of Education but they said that they had no experience of this but said they could provide no input as its between the school and the parents.
Does anybody else have a view of this and the school's "right" to change a child's name from a double-barrell to a single surname just because they perceived the double-barrell name too long?
C

Chancer3001

You phoned the department of education ??

If this isn't an obvious troll then you're a complete idiot and I pity your child

TheValeyard

Is it a really crappy double-barrell name or a pompus sounding one?

Supergurrier

Double barrelled names are stupid. Where does it end ? quadruple, octuple names ?

Chancer3001

Murray TheDemonic TalkingSkull wrote: »

Is it a really crappy double-barrell name or a pompus sounding one?

Your name is too long.

Shorten it please

TheValeyard

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Your name is too long.

Shorten it please

MTDTS

gordongekko

Gaelscoils change the pupils names from english to irish all the time so name changes are not unusual

diomed

I don't like hyphenated double barrel surnames.
But if it is the legal name that is the end of it.

coffee_cake

Supergurrier wrote: »

Double barrelled names are stupid. Where does it end ? quadruple, octuple names ?

I never understood this 'argument' at all. oh no i have a middle name. will i wake up with 50 names tomorrow.

pconn062

Pick your battles.

Humbird

Hi, there is no change of his name from English to Irish. The school want to alter his name by dropping half of it. Surely they have no right? Do they?

Supergurrier

bluewolf wrote: »

I never understood this 'argument' at all. oh no i have a middle name. will i wake up with 50 names tomorrow.

It's not a middle name, it's both parents wanting the child to retain their last name.

What if two double barrelled name people have a child and have same attitude, quadruple barrell ?

Next generation Octuple barrell ?

So on and so forth

diomed

Perhaps the computer name field does not take the full name.

SmartinMartin

Double barrel names in Ireland are pure fcuking pretentiousness. Awful.

For Forks Sake

OP is Ross O'Carroll-Kellys mother, right?

Agricola

"Andrew Murphy............."

"Here"


"Amanda O' Leary..........."

"Here"

"Bartholomew Von Steingarten-Pifflefank III"

blanch152

bluewolf wrote: »

I never understood this 'argument' at all. oh no i have a middle name. will i wake up with 50 names tomorrow.

Say a Murphy-Smith marries a Ryan-O'Mahony, will the kids have the surname Murphy-Smith-Ryan-O'Mahony?

Harry Palmr

SmartinMartin wrote: »

Double barrel names in Ireland are pure fcuking pretentiousness. Awful.

They'll become more common in the future as women refuse to be chattels and more divorced people who have children remarry

Humbird

I would like to say that I didn't ask people's opinions about double-barrel names, everybody has their own opinion. I simply asked about the school's right to change a child's name without parental consent, that was the point of my thread.
Sorry I asked, this was so unhelpful.

meeeeh

And this is the type of a problem you look for the advice on in After Hours....

I just realised my school was a disgrace. They would just call us by our names and no surname (unless there were two with the same name).

Supergurrier

Harry Palmr wrote: »

They'll become more common in the future as women refuse to be chattels and more divorced people who have children remarry

The same women who will then moan when their brothers wife refuses to take their name :pac:

SmartinMartin

You asked in AH, what the hell did you expect.

diomed

They did not change the child's name.
They want to use a shorter version.

strandroad

Humbird wrote: »

I would like to say that I didn't ask people's opinions about double-barrel names, everybody has their own opinion. I simply asked about the school's right to change a child's name without parental consent, that was the point of my thread.
Sorry I asked, this was so unhelpful.

You may want to try in Teaching and Lecturing section instead.

Wesser

In fairness... It is after hours. Not the parenting section.
I think everyone knows that you cannot legally change his name.

Nothing speaks a difficult parent like a child with a double barrel name......
Perfect example here... calling the dept of edu... could have been sorted easily locally......

Daithi101

Humbird wrote:

I would like to say that I didn't ask people's opinions about double-barrel names, everybody has their own opinion. I simply asked about the school's right to change a child's name without parental consent, that was the point of my thread. Sorry I asked, this was so unhelpful.

Think the person in the Junior Cert forum who told you to post in AH was unhelpful.

This is going to be comic gold.

byhookorbycrook

gordongekko wrote: »

Gaelscoils change the pupils names from english to irish all the time so name changes are not unusual

Not all the time, our school ask the parent/s what first name they want their child to be known as, surnames are in Irish. Previously it was the tradition that all children were called by their full Irish names in all primary schools throughout the country, but that seems to have petered out in many schools.

Alf Veedersane

Brazilian footballers were given way cooler names than their actual names. Imagine if Pele's oul wan had kicked up the same fuss!!!

ED E

How many syllables OP?

meeeeh

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Not all the time, our school ask the parent/s what first name they want their child to be known as, surnames are in Irish. Previously it was the tradition that all children were called by their full Irish names in all primary schools throughout the country, but that seems to have petered out in many schools.

What do you do when kids have Polish, Indian, German, Chinese names...

stimpson

Change his name by deed poll to something they won’t like. Satan O’Hitler should do the trick.

This will have the added benefit of not sounding quite so ridiculous as a double barrel name.