Is it possible to give the child's surname different from his/her parents’?

My name is Nam. My wife is pregnant now. In the past, when we had difficulties in my life, there was a person who helped us a lot. Now my wife and I want to express gratitude to this person, so we want to put the child's last name after his surname. My surname is Hoang, my wife’s surname is Tran; however, I would like to know whether I can name my child after the surname Duong or not.

FDVN’s opinion:

Thank you for concerning FDVN’s legal services. Regarding your consulting requests, after studying the relevant legal documents, FDVN Law Firm would like to give you the following advice:

According to Clause 2, Article 26 of the Civil Code 2015, the surname of a person is specified as follows:

“2. The family name of a person shall be passed from his/her biological father's or mother’s as mutually agreed between the parents; if the parents fail to agree, the person’s family name shall be determined according to customary practices. If the father of such a person is undetermined, his/her family name shall be passed from his/her natural mother’s.

…

Biological father and mother specified in this Code mean a father and mother determined at the event of parturition; intended father and mother and the resulting child as prescribed in the Law on marriage and families.”

Therefore, according to the current law, the child's surname is determined according to the biological parent's surname. The law does not allow the surname of a child to be different from the biological father's or mother's.

Above is FDVN Law Firm's opinion for your consulting requests based on studying the relevant legal provisions. Hopefully, FDVN's advice would be helpful to you.

Dinh Thi Thong - FDVN Law Firm