Surname change without marriage

How it works

Couples who marry in the UK can change their surname using the marriage certificate as evidence — no deed poll needed if they take their spouse's surname. Unmarried couples do not have a marriage certificate, so a deed poll is the evidencing document.

If only one partner is changing their surname, they alone execute one deed poll adopting the new surname. If both are changing, both execute separate deed polls to adopt the same new shared surname. Each certificate is independent and must be properly signed and witnessed.

Your naming options

• One partner adopts the other's surname — the partner adopting executes a deed poll; the partner whose name is taken needs no deed poll.
• Both adopt a new shared surname — each executes a separate deed poll to the same new shared name.
• Double-barrelled — both partners' surnames combined with a hyphen or space, e.g. Smith-Jones; both execute a deed poll adopting the double-barrelled name. See our double-barrelled surname guide.
• Hybrid or completely new surname — a portmanteau of both surnames or an entirely new shared name; both partners execute a deed poll adopting the new name.

Children of cohabiting parents

The same parental-responsibility rules apply regardless of marital status. A child's name (under 16) can only be changed with the consent of all parental-responsibility holders.

For unmarried parents in England and Wales:

• Mothers automatically hold parental responsibility.
• Unmarried fathers hold parental responsibility only if jointly named on the birth certificate (for births registered on or after 1 December 2003), or via a parental responsibility agreement with the mother, or a parental responsibility order from the court.
• Second-female parents hold PR under similar conditions.

If both unmarried parents hold PR, both must consent to a child's name change. If only the mother holds PR, her consent alone suffices. For details and the full child name-change process see our child name change guide.