Surname, surname, usage name, marital name: what difference?
Verified 05 December 2019 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Everyone has family name..
The surname appears on the birth certificate.
For example, your father's or mother's name.
The family name matches old patronymic name, expression now deleted.
Last name is the same as birth name except in case of name change (for example, after a simple adoption or plenary, for legitimate reasons ...)
The usage name is used in everyday life.
The usage name is optional.
The usage name does not replace the last name.
You can use as a usage name:
- The name of the person you are married to
- A double name consisting of your name and the name of the person you are married with
- A double name consisting of your name and the name of the parent who did not give you his name at birth
The marital name is the name of your spouse or common-law partner that you use as your common-law name.
- Civil Code: articles 311-21 to 311-24-1Choosing a family name for a child
- Civil Code: Articles 212 to 226Use of spouse's or spouse's name as a usage name (section 225-1)
FAQ
- Acts of civil statusService-Public.fr
- First and last nameService-Public.fr
- Change of civil statusService-Public.fr
- Choosing a child’s surname: name of mother, father or double-nameService-Public.fr
- Change of surname for legitimate reasonsService-Public.fr
- Usage name: use of wife’s or husband’s nameService-Public.fr
- Usage name: using the names of both parentsService-Public.fr