Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: Birth labor and naming my child

Who gets to be in the labor/delivery area is generally controlled by hospital policy. You should check with what the specific hospital does and coordinate in advance. If their policy does not conform to you purpose there may be other avenues to effect your wishes, but they will probably be offensive to some people.

Authority to name a child is not explicitly stated in statute, except that the parents get to name the child, a child is by implication given its father's surname, and it appears that he would not have to go to court, you would have to go to court to force the granting of an alternative name (and you would probably lose). See RCW 70.58.080 Birth certificates � Filing � Establishing paternity � Surname of child.

(8) When no alleged father is named on a birth certificate of a child born to an unwed mother the mother may give any surname she so desires to

her child but shall designate in space provided for father's name on the birth certificate "None Named".

If the parents don't agree on a name or mechanism for picking a name, then I see litigation as a way to force the naming (probably will be the most expensive method of picking a name).