Lawyer divides opinion after explaining why babies should only ever take their mother's name
Katherine Sidnell
Featured Image Credit: Twitter/DrCharlotteProudman/Getty
Picking baby names is hard at the best of times but now there is even more for parents to consider.
Lawyer, Dr Charlotte Proudman, has explained why babies should take their mother’s surname in a lengthy tweet – which has since gone viral.
And the internet has been left deeply divided on the matter, with some people majorly disagreeing with the comment.
Advert
Whilst we wouldn't recommend raising this point on the internet, Proudman put forward an interesting case.
In her tweet, she urged pregnant women to reconsider adding their other half’s name to their child’s, writing: “A message to pregnant women — please give the baby your surname.
"You carried a baby for 9 months, gave birth, and will be responsible for that child for the rest of your life.”
The barrister then added: “When you’re registering the baby ask yourself: why is the father’s surname more important than yours?”
Shortly after she posted the tweet on 9 August, the post went viral and was seen by over 5.3 million people on Twitter.
Proudman also appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain to discuss her tweet further and said that using the father's surname 'stems back to the idea that children are property of the father'.
She added that due to all the stress women go through to give birth, they should think about whether their surname is 'more or just as important' as the father's.
But, despite her argument, it hasn’t stopped the comments section from descending into chaos as people share their opinion over whose name babies should have on their birth certificates.
One of those in favour of taking the father’s surname suggested that it would help new dads 'feel responsible' for their little ones, writing: “The point is to make the father feel responsible for the child.”
"…because his surname is also my surname?" someone else commented.
Meanwhile, a third also suggested that it helped men feel secure about the paternity of a potential child, saying: “I have parental certainty. He doesn’t.
"Naming the child thus helps shore up emotional support and helps stabilize the family unit.”
However, some had other thoughts.
In fact, one woman shared her own experience after opting to double-barrel her children's surnames.
“My sons have my surname double-barrelled with their fathers…My ex has great joy in stripping my name away from our sons repeatedly,” she said.
While others argued that they would have preferred their mother’s maiden name.
“I wish my mum had given me her maiden name. I hate my surname and its association to my father,” one user commented.
And someone said that their children 'have both', adding: "And I’m quite okay with them choosing to use either or both. Or if they want to choose a completely new one I’m also fine with that."
What do you think?