New naming law in Thuringia: This is how your family name changes!

New naming law in Thuringia: This is how your family name changes!

In May 2023, a new naming law came into force in Thuringia, which is encouraging many citizens to change their names. How Antennas Thuringia reports, the demand for name changes in registry offices has increased significantly since then. In some cases, requests have increased fivefold. This shows that there is considerable interest in the innovations and that the trend began before the change in the law.

What is particularly striking is that the long-awaited rush to use double names as surnames has not materialized. In the city of Sonneberg, out of 100 weddings, only two couples chose a double name. However, a large number of adults are still interested in renaming, particularly those who bore a parent's married name as children. This shows that the reform definitely addresses different needs.

New naming law – more options

With the new law, parents now have the opportunity to give their children double names, even if they do not have a double name themselves. The new regulation is a big step towards adapting to modern family structures, which have often been criticized in the past as being too restrictive. ZDF Today emphasizes that Germany was for a long time considered to be at the bottom of the list when it came to naming rights compared to other European countries.

Before the reform, children could only receive their parents' married name, even in the event of a divorce. These are no longer bound to outdated regulations. Spouses now have the freedom to choose a common double name, with or without a hyphen. It is also possible for adult children to change their last name or take on double names - without the need for a marriage contract.

Complexity of name change

Despite the improvements, there are challenges. The bureaucratic effort and the information available to citizens are often insufficient. Telephone consultations in Gera, for example, have increased by around 20 percent because many people misinterpret the law, which leads to confusion. The software for processing name changes is also not yet fully developed, which makes the process time-consuming.

Another point that is often not taken into account when making this change in the law is the complex regulations for international parents and German regulations. The Federal Ministry of Justice makes this clear by noting that each name change is examined individually and not all possible scenarios could be taken into account in advance.

The change costs are around 35 euros, but additional follow-up costs may arise for necessary document changes. However, the ability to choose double names makes it easier for diverse families to live together and gives them more options to meet their individual needs.

Overall, it shows that the reform of naming law can definitely be seen as a step in the right direction. It remains to be seen whether the expectations regarding double names will be fulfilled, but the legal framework has now been created to take different family structures into account.