Philippine naming policy

[Rochelle A 0]

Greetings, 

I am from the US and my husband is from the Philippines. We recently had a baby boy born in the US. We named him R (first name) J (middle name) A (last name). When we reported the birth to the Philippine government, they said in order to follow the Philippine naming system, his name would have to be R J  (first names) H  (my maiden name, his middle name) A  (last name). I'm pretty worried about him having two different legal names varying by country. Has anyone heard of this? We are thinking about changing his name in the US to match, but the only problem with that is we already got his passport and will be going back to the Philippines in 2 months. Thoughts?

Edited September 16, 2022 by Ontarkie
edited to removed personal information

[Chancy 6,241]

9 minutes ago, Rochelle A said:

I'm pretty worried about him having two different legal names varying by country. Has anyone heard of this? We are thinking about changing his name in the US to match

 

First, please edit your post to remove real names.  People will understand with just initials.

 

Anyway, there's not much you can do with the name on your child's PH passport, if he gets one.  Philippine naming convention is set into law, so what the consulate told you is just following the law.  As to changing his name in the US, it's up to you.  It will just be a minor hassle with having slightly different names on 2 different passports.  Whenever he has to travel, he must make sure to match the name on the passport he is using (whether the US one or the PH one).

 

[hunny&me 274]

No problem when I filed.  The form should match the birth certificate you are submitting.  When I reported my daughter's birth, she too does NOT have my maiden name as her middle.  The exact Report of Birth submitted is now scanned and available as PSA birth certificate.

[Chancy 6,241]

1 minute ago, hunny&me said:

When I reported my daughter's birth, she too does NOT have my maiden name as her middle.  The exact Report of Birth submitted is now scanned and available as PSA birth certificate.

 

I think OP was unlucky to encounter consulate staff who were strict with the naming convention.  I'm also surprised they didn't just accept the name on the US birth certificate.

 

[hunny&me 274]

4 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

I think OP was unlucky to encounter consulate staff who were strict with the naming convention.  I'm also surprised they didn't just accept the name on the US birth certificate.

 

I have filed ROB (PCG LA); ROM(PCG SF) - so far, they accept the forms as what I filled out >> matching the official document (birth; marriage-with new legal name diff from my birth).  If they returned, I would have responded back that it was filled out as per reference to current legal document to support the Report. 

[Chancy 6,241]

2 minutes ago, hunny&me said:

If they returned, I would have responded back that it was filled out as per reference to current legal document to support the Report.

 

From what I heard about most ROBs, they don't usually complain about the name.  As a USC, obviously it is legal for the child to follow US naming convention.  But this is DFA we're talking about, so I'm not surprised that they would be inconsistent with the naming requirement 🙄

 

[top_secret 2,451]

58 minutes ago, Rochelle A said:

Greetings, 

I am from the US and my husband is from the Philippines. We recently had a baby boy born in the US. We named him Rxxx (first name) Jxxx (middle name) Axxx (last name). When we reported the birth to the Philippine government, they said in order to follow the Philippine naming system, his name would have to be Rxxx Jxxx (first names) Hxxx (my maiden name, his middle name) Axxx (last name). I'm pretty worried about him having two different legal names varying by country. Has anyone heard of this? We are thinking about changing his name in the US to match, but the only problem with that is we already got his passport and will be going back to the Philippines in 2 months. Thoughts?

 

What you describe actually makes legal sense and should not cause you any troubles.  In the US, "Middle Name" does not have any special legal significance.  It is just a name, and in fact could even be omitted in 'most' legal situations.  In the Philippines, "Middle Name" does have legal significance.  It is the maternal surname.  But it is also possible to have another "name in the middle", that is just a name and not a "Middle Name".

 

In the context of a Filipino passport.  If the middle name follows Filipino convention, there is a special line for it.  US Passports do not even have a separate line for middle name.  Middle names just go together with the first name under "Given Names" on a US Passport.  If the child's middle name is NOT following Filipino convention, it would also go second on the "Given Names" line on a Filipino Passport just the same as it would on a US Passport.  The "Middle Name" line on a Filipino Passport is superfluous to the US.

 

As far as airline tickets and most practical legalities related to travel, all that matters is First Name, Last Name and date of birth must all match.  Just skip the middle names entirely and enjoy your trip.

[RO_AH 1,659]

14 hours ago, Rochelle A said:

Greetings, 

I am from the US and my husband is from the Philippines. We recently had a baby boy born in the US. We named him R (first name) J (middle name) A (last name). When we reported the birth to the Philippine government, they said in order to follow the Philippine naming system, his name would have to be R J  (first names) H  (my maiden name, his middle name) A  (last name). I'm pretty worried about him having two different legal names varying by country. Has anyone heard of this? We are thinking about changing his name in the US to match, but the only problem with that is we already got his passport and will be going back to the Philippines in 2 months. Thoughts?

I think that you wee just unlucky with the staff member that you had. You should have asked for their supervisor.