Personal question re birth cert.

Since Ancestry has now up to date indexes I am baffled at what I have found.
As this is regarding my 8 year old Granddaughter I have used different
names.
I searched her name
Linda Ann Brown and found her correct entry with her Mother's maiden
name Smith.
I then found another entry with
Linda Ann Smith with Mother's maiden name Smith.

Eve McLaughlin...

Are the parents married? If not, then this could be a reflection of the
formal legal position against the intended surname of use as intended by
the parents.
Alternatively - if the actual surname is a common one, then there just
about could be a Linda Ann Smith as well as LA Brown.

Brenda Orsler...

Very unusual surname.
Brenda

Both entries had exactly the same index and I am confused as to why
there are two entries with different surnames for my Granddaughter,
Is one her 'legal' name and what happens when she needs to apply for
things like a passport etc.

Charles Ellson...

ITYF either-
-the parents were not married at the time of registration, or
-the father's usual name was not the only one by which he was known
Unless his other name is identical with her maiden name then the
former is favourite.
An outlay of 7 pounds will solve the puzzle but whether confirming it
or not is a good idea is another matter.

Brenda

caroline.bradford...

No need to worry. Probably an error occurred somewhere in the indexing
process and both index references probably refer to the same actual entry.
Your granddaughter was clearly registered correctly and (presumably) has a
perfectly valid birth certificate which she can use for identification
purposes such as passport applications. Although it is not really relevant
in this case, one's "legal" name is simply the one by which one is known,
irrespective of one's parents' names or the wording on a birth certificate.

Brenda Orsler...

Thanks for the reassurance.
My Grandaughter's parents aren't married and her 'two' different
registrations are one with her Father's name and one with her Mother's name.

Charles Ellson...

If they aren't married then you've got the normal pair of index
entries that occurs when a child of unmarried parents is registered by
both parents. If the same index reference is shown for both names then
there is almost certainly only one register entry with both parents
named.

Tom Perrett...

We had the same procedure here in my State
for illigimate children when the father was
involved in the registration, don't know whether
that is still the procedure, but anyway it was
indexed in both the mother's name with
father as UNKNOWN and then again in the
father's name which was shown in that index
entry, there was only one Reg No. but the
second index entry had an R at the end.

My Daughter only remembers registering her once.

CWatters...

With her partner?

myths...

The partner mentioned above is unmarried, which makes a difference.

All registrations of members of my extended family whose parents have
two surnames are indexed twice. In most such cases, the parents are
unmarried. In one case, they are married but the father has a single
surname while his father, wife and child have a double-barrelled
version.

(Thinks to self: presumably, if the parents have different surnames
and the child a third there would be three index records for one
registration.)

Brenda Orsler...

having his surname on the registration.
She would not have made another registration on her own.
It came as quite a suprise to see the two entries.
This I am sure could have caused a conflict had the Father thought that
something was 'going on behind his back'
Fortunately my Daughter and her partner are in a steady stable
relationship with their daughter and no harm has been done.
Brenda
p.s. I will post an stranger mistake in another post.

Any original birth cert has been mislaid and my daughter now wants to
obtain a passport and is not sure which name she should apply for.

Charles Ellson...

That is normally the name by which a person is usually known, ITYF
this style of birth registration covers both primary choices.

Jeff...

An Email to:

corrections.and.re-reg.section@ons.gsi.gov.uk

will clarify.

and the links from there may be helpful.

caroline.bradford...

My money is still on there only being one registration and therefore only
one possible certificate, with two separate index entries, but I would
suggest your daughter applies for a copy using the name by which your
grand-daughter is known (her legal name). It may well be more sensible to do
this via the local registrar with whom the registration was originally made,
rather than go through the GRO. If your daughter telephones them and
explains the situation I am sure they will be helpful.

Best wishes