You can change your child's forename(s) within 12 months of the date of the child’s original birth registration.
There is a statutory fee for this service, and you will be required to purchase a new Birth certificate showing the change(s) which have been made.
The process varies depending on if the child was baptised in the Christian faith or not.
Births at a Manchester hospital
If you are a Trafford resident and had your child at a Manchester hospital, we only holds the original birth registration for your child for approximately one month after the birth has been registered.
Once this period has passed, you will need to make an appointment with Manchester register office to make the required amendment to the original birth entry.
Find a register office on GOV.UK.
If your child has already been baptised
If the child has been baptised in the Christian faith within the 12-month period after the birth registration, you can obtain a form from the Register Office to take to the Minister of the Church in which the child was baptised.
Once this form has been completed, you will need to contact the relevant register office to make an appointment to change the forename(s).
The amended forename(s) will be inserted into space 17 of the original birth registration, in the presence of the informant. The original forenames will remain in space 2 of the original birth registration.
This process can be done at any time after the birth if the baptism took place within 12 months of the birth registration.
If your child has not been baptised
Within the 12-month period after the birth registration took place, the forename(s) can be changed on the original birth registration.
Parents can obtain a 'non baptism' naming form from the Register Office.
Once this form has been completed, you will need to contact the relevant register office to make an appointment to change the forename(s).
The amended forename(s) will be inserted into space 17 of the original birth registration, in the presence of the informant. The original forenames will remain in space 2 of the original birth registration.
Next steps
Certified copies can then be purchased, which will be an exact copy of the information in the updated birth register.
Any original birth certificates must be returned to the register office and cannot be used in the future.