Latest update April 4th, 2025 5:09 PM
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Those double-barreled surnames
Dear Editor,
Kindly grant me some space in your newspapers to clear up a legal misunderstanding, which I have been accused of perpetuating. I consider the issue to be of immediate social and legal significance.
In recent years, a growing number of women have been adopting the use of double-barreled surnames, immediately after their marriages and have been using a hyphen to join the two surnames that they wish to use, together.
Even judges of the High Court have been allowing their surnames to be reported as double-barreled identifications. Without a doubt, this practice is illegal.
Except these persons can produce credible documentation that can support the identification of themselves in this manner, then the use of these hyphenated surnames will assume the roles simply as aliases.
The relevant provisions of the Marriage Act, in most countries, and Guyana is no exception, requires that the wife takes the surname of her husband or if she so chooses, to continue her identification in her maiden surname.
In my case, I wanted to have a special identification, for very personal reasons.
I approached the courts with my petition and the necessary registration and documentation was ably handled for me by my friend and colleague, Mr. Fitzgerald Yaw.
The result is that I will always have in my possession a document bearing a number and year of the Supreme Court of Judicature, in the County of Demerara that allows me to use the surname of Holder (hyphen) Allen, Holder-Allen. A document, which must be obeyed by all whenever and wherever I should present it.
As a member of the legal profession who has the highest regard for the laws and the legal tenets and the practice of it, I was under no illusion as to what course of action I had to take if I wanted to assume a particular identification.
My reason for writing this letter however, has much to do with the personal annoyance of having institutions such as banks, and utility companies making ‘’mass’’ with my name because of the frequent dealings with this new practice being adopted by many Guyanese women at all levels.
Just recently, a young male relative of mine complained to me that his new wife, who is a teacher, was trying to register her new double-barreled name with the school and the school’s administration was resisting this change.
He wanted me to intervene on behalf of his wife, and to tell the school what was the ‘’law’’.
Sad to say, the law is not on her side.
For this reason, I will iterate that a ‘’name change’’ is an important item of identification, and persons should seek legal advice if he or she is desirous of taking this step. I do hope that things can be returned to their normal state.
Yours faithfully,
Juliet Holder-Allen
Attorney-at-Law
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