N.J. Admin. Code § 8:2-1.4 - Designation of child's name

(a) The designation of a child's name including the surname is the right of the child's parent(s). The child may be given any chosen name(s) or surname, except that the State Registrar may reject a name that contains an obscenity, numerals, symbols, or a combination of letters, numerals, or symbols, or a name that is illegible. The chosen name shall be printed on the back of the birth record and the birth record shall be signed by one or both parents. The hospital official who witnesses the signing shall also sign the birth record.

1. Where either parent is unavailable for any reason, the choice of the child's name(s) rests with the parent who has custody of the newborn child. That parent shall state in writing on the back of the birth record that the other parent is not available; thereafter the recording parent shall be the sole informant for the purpose of compliance with N.J.S.A. 26:8-26 and this subchapter.

2. In cases where both parents have custody of the child, are both available, and disagree on the selection of a surname, the surname selected by one parent and the surname selected by the other parent shall both be entered on the certificate, separated by a hyphen, with the selected names entered in alphabetical order.

(b) The parents or custodian of the child shall have five days from the child's birth to decide the child's surname. If no designation is made within that time, and no surname has been registered pursuant to (a)2 above, or if the chosen surname is rejected by the State Registrar, for the reasons specified in (a) above, the child's surname shall be recorded as both parents surnames in alphabetical order separated by a hyphen. If the parents disagree on the selection of a given name, or if the State Registrar rejects the given name chosen by the parents or parent, for the reasons specified in (a) above, a dash (-) shall be entered in the space allotted for a given name on the certificate. After five days, any surname assigned by the registrar, a surname registered pursuant to (a)2 above, or the dash designation may only be changed through the procedures set out in N.J.S.A. 26:8-48 and 2A:52-4.

(c) The parent(s) may elect to record a name on the fetal death certificate; however, a name shall not be required.

(d) In the event that a parent(s) requests a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth and the fetal death record on file indicates that no name was given on the original report, the State Registrar shall create the certificate without a name of the stillborn child and any subsequent certified copies will be issued in the same manner.

(e) A parent(s) who wishes to amend the fetal death record to add a name may do so by completing a correction form designed and approved by the State Registrar with the Office of the State Registrar. Such correction shall also be made to the Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth. Copies of the correction form may be obtained from the local registrar's office or from the Office of the State Registrar, PO Box 370, Trenton, New Jersey, 08625-0370.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 8:2-1.4

Recodified from N.J.A.C. 8:2-1.3 and amended by R.2005 d.209, effective 7/5/2005.
See: 37 New Jersey Register 172(b), 37 New Jersey Register 2504(a).
In (a), inserted references to symbols following references to numerals throughout the introductory paragraph; added (c) through (e). Former N.J.A.C. 8:2-1.4, Names of parents, recodified to N.J.A.C. 8:2-1.5.