Family Historian User Group

I hadn't realised until recently that parents who had children before they were married could re-register the child's birth AFTER they married.

This explains why I have recently found two entries in the BMD Index with different dates for the same person.The Directgov site http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentc ... /DG_175618
says the following

Changing a child’s surname
You can only change a child’s surname in their original birth record to correct a spelling mistake.

However, a child can be re-registered in the following circumstances:

to record the natural father's details in the birth record
following the marriage of the natural parents, if they were not married at the time of the birth
In these circumstances, you are able to change the child’s surname to the mother’s or the father’s – or a combination of the two – as long as both parents agree to the change. If the child is 16 years of age or over, his or her written consent must be obtained before the surname can be changed.


It is also a reminder that the date of registration is what is shown in the BMD Index NOT the date of birth

ID:4115

Yes - you can imagine the problems that occur when you find that a person's birth has been registered FIVE (5) times!

One of my relatives was born before their parents married - so had 2 Register entries. However, there was a spelling mistake on the first entries, so there were a second pair of entries. And, yes, the parents married - so yet another entry.

Many thanks for the clear explanation.

Bilko[smile]

I have got one whose parents were unmarried but were (and still are) living together who was registered twice at birth. One with his father's surname and one with his mother's! Great for passports etc later!