Adoptions in ireland ie dublin

[kathrynbryant]

Good morning,

Another long shot. I have an Uncle who was born in Dublin on 24 September 1925. On his Death Certificate his birth date is given as 25 September 1925. He was born at a Nurses House having been the product of a liaison between my Grandfather and an unmarried lady. These people are long since deceased.

I have my Uncles Birth Certificate, Baptism Certificate and Death Certificate should these be required by anyone. Well, now the mystery. My Uncle's surname changed at some point in his life and stuck. It is my understanding that Legal Adoptions weren't in force until around 1952. I have details of the family in Dundrum which is where his changed surname came from.

Basically, am wondering could someone's surname just change without it being official, and also, wouldn't my Uncle have had to show some documentation later in his life that was valid? Also, I've just noticed that on his Birth Certificate it states that his birth was registered on 7 October 1925 but on his Baptism Certificate it states that he was Baptised on 28 September 1925. Excuse my ignorance but wouldn't his parents have had to show his Birth Certificate to the Church for him to be Baptised?

Thank you for any assistance that is forthcoming.

Kathryn

[cbcarolyn]

Just a thought I have seen notices in the newspaper declaring a name change, long shot but could be worth a search if you have access to any papers.

[kathrynbryant]

Thank you cbcarolyn. All I have is his birth cert and baptismal cert. He may well have been placed with this family by the Nurses House in Dublin where he was born. I'll try and see what papers were around but obviously don't know when he would have been placed with this other family. I do know that his new surname was used in the early 1940's as it is used when he enlists in Belfast in 1941.

[Valice in Wonderland]

I don't know that it is necessary to show a birth certificate before a baptism, as baptisms do occur sometimes within hours of a birth if the baby might not survive.

[kathrynbryant]

Thank you Valice in Wonderland. Makes sense what you say.

[Sylvia C]

It is quite sufficient just to announce to people who need to know that "as from this date (date given) I, John Smith, will be know as Joe Brown." Often there will be an addition such as "I will no longer be responsible for any debts caused by John Smith"!

It can be done by word of mouth, tor example, to the bank, employer, the vicar, friends, etc, or by publishing a notice in the Classified section of a newspaper.

I used to see it quite often back in the 50s and 60s in my home town paper in the UK, and there are regular notices now in the Vancouver newspaper. I'd say that I see at least 2 or 3 such notices per month in the Personals section of Classified.

This is all perfectly legal as long as it i not being done for criminal or deception purposes, and is much cheaper than the other alternative which would be a legal change of name.

[kathrynbryant]

Thank you for this info Sylvia C. Very interesting.

[dublincat]

No, a birth certificate wouldn't have been required for a baptism.

[teasie]

Irish law isn't necessarily the same, but in the UK you can call yourself whatever you like - as has already been said - although you can't walk away from your debts as has been implied.

Banks etc increasingly require something more formal such as a deed poll, but this doesn't have to be registered or advertised anywhere, and in fact the Gov.UK site includes suggested wording for a DIY version.

I changed my surname by deed poll 30-years ago.

[Janet in Yorkshire]

There have always been lots of instances of an "unofficial" change of surname being used - e.g. child born before a marriage taking mother's new surname after her marriage, father dies/leaves family and child takes name of step-father/new partner etc.

People of my parents' generation often only had "short" birth certificates which just recorded full name of the child - there were very few occasions when a birth certificate was required as proof of ID; my father only got a copy of his when he was 65 and needed it for pension purposes.

I was brought up in a small village where everyone knew everyone else's business so it was not unusual for people in the same household to have differing names - amongst my classmates at the village school Michael had a different surname from his mother, "father" and younger brothers (step-father and half brothers) Kathleen had a different surname from her Mum and Dad (her Mum had divorced her father and remarried) Brenda had two older sisters with a different surname - their father had been killed in WW2, mother had remarried and had a second family with her new husband, etc. My elderly neighbour (Mrs T) once told me that her late husband had been brought up by his widowed paternal grandmother (Granny W) and was usually known as Billy W, although some people called him Billy T. However, when she was marrying Billy she had asked Granny W whether his birth surname had been W or T - it was T and so she had insisted that T was used at the marriage and ever after!

I loved all these name puzzles and mysteries - the explanations, gossip and working out of all the name connections and relationships were the seeds of my love of family histories.