Posted
Update
Article written by
/2021/12/14/61b8b9accb57c_france-3.png)
A family name is an identity, a story, it is also sometimes a burden. A bill could lead to a revolution in civil status. It would allow, once in a lifetime, to easily change surnames.
For ten years, Mélina has not seen her father, who abandoned her. However, it bears his name. A cumbersome surname, which she would like to get rid of, because “it evokes pain, absence and the unknown. Quite the opposite of what my maternal family brought me”says the young woman. This student from Dunkirk (North) started the process to change its name. An obstacle course, with paid publication in the Official Journal and a letter to the administration that has so far remained unanswered.
Like Mélina, more than 4,000 people asked to change their name in 2020. The reasons are many: abandonment, incest, mistreatment, but also a surname difficult to bear. A new law could allow a once-in-a-lifetime name change on simple statement in town hall. The second part of the law would make it easier for divorced women to pass on their name to their children. If the law is passed, the new simplified approach could be able be implemented this summer.