Double-barrell surnames

[BBK]

Don't know what its like in the rest of the country, but down here in the south it seems that just about half the kids have double barrell surnames. Not because they're posh (no Cudgington-Smythes), but merely because the parents aren't married.

OK, so no big deal. The question is, what happens if two people with double barrelled surnames have a kid but aren't married. Do they give the kids four-barrells, or choose one barrell each?

[Cenus_]

I dunno but its double barrelled not double barrell.

EDIT: Yes they do: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax

[Nikki]

yeah few people at our place have got double barrell names, although one of them is the directors daughter and is very posh so.......

[BertRoot]

I always liked the name of a kid at my daughters playgroup. Beyonce Smith-Jones. Would you fucking credit it?

[Nikki]

erm... buahaha i dont want to say Bert, how about Sarah - Lou

[lukese]

i have a double barrolled name, it was murder in school, and still is now, people just, thay say what is your surname, i tell them then they just enter the last part into the system and tell me i dont have a booking!, when you try and tell people over the phone your surname is also amusing, had one person ask me to spell it so i did then i said "hyphon" and the next bit and she stoped me and said how are you spelling hyphon, classic conversation.

my name is just from my dad, so its a proper one!

[blaggard]

My Mum refused to marry my dad unless he dropped the first part of his double barrelled name, this was a very long time ago (2nd world war) so it held none of the current "Tiffany-Chardonnay" connotations, it was jus bloody awful!!

[lagigolo]

Is there a protocol of double barrelled names, like the fathers surname first or the mothers, or whatever sounds best???

[MsDG]

There is no official protocol for names at all.

For example, if a couple (say Mr & Mrs Smith) had a baby they could quite legally call it what ever they like (inc the surname). They don't have to use the Smith surname... they could register the child as " lawrence llewelyn-bowen" if they wished!

The fact that most people have the same surname as thier parents is a tradition and not a legal requirement.