Should a child be given the dads last name even if the parents aren't together or married?

[Anonymous]

[abc3643]

I am open to this, but there is a reason for this tradition.
No one ever doubts who a child's mother is because birth is witnessed and women do not separate themselves from their babies and children.
Men have no tangible linkage like that. We do our deed - depositing sperm in the uterus - and that's pretty much it. In principle, the woman could have any man at any time and any of those men could be the father. Before DNA testing, you never really knew. But the baby taking the surname of the father was a public declaration by the couple that this man is the father of the child (at least in terms of raising the child if not outright being its biological father).

[OfDeath]

It's just a tradition. It's up to whoever takes care of the kid.

Personally, I think in this situation, the child should be given the name of the place they were born or something derived from that name. Or get creative along thise lines. For example, if they were born in Chicago, you wouldn't call her Jane Chicago. You'd call her Jane Chic or Jane Town or something like that.

[sage2021]

If you aren't ever going to see the father in the baby's life, I say give it the Mom's last name. But if he is still going to be in the baby's life, you might want to give the baby the Father's last name.

[ThrillSeeker01]

I think by the time they reach a certain age, they should be.

[OlderAndWiser]

That is for the two parents to decide.

[Anonymous]

if they want to