Forenames can be changed in the 12 months from the date of registration. Names can be removed or added or the order changed. There is a £40 fee to change a name.
On the birth entry, the names as originally recorded in the space for names and surname remain the same. The new names are recorded in a space at the bottom of the entry for those given after registration.
Subsequent short certificates just show the new names, but new full certificates show both the original and new versions of the names.
Where names have been changed later than 12 months from the date of registration, the birth entry cannot normally be changed.
If a child has been baptised by a Christian Church
A form called a certificate of name given in baptism will be given to you by the minister at the church. This form needs to be given to the register office so that the birth entry can be updated.
If the child has not been baptised
One of the parents named on the birth entry needs to complete a form called a certificate of name given not in baptism.
Changing a child’s last name
The surname cannot usually be changed on the birth entry after registration unless this is done by re-registering a birth.