No Father on birth cert

[cynmac]

Hello List
I am researching a baby b 1920 in a Workhouse.  The Mother is married but no Father is given on the birth cert although the child's surname is subsequently the same as the Mother's husband.
My Question is ... would the Father's name be omitted if he was not present , or working in a different part of the country and could the child be known by his surname officially without his permission.   I am trying to find if he was really the unnamed Father.
Any thoughts ??
Cynmac

[stanmapstone]

The Registration Act of 1874 states:
"The putative father of an illegitimate child cannot be required as father to give information respecting the birth. The name, surname and occupation of the putative father of an illegitimate child must not be entered except at the joint request of the father and mother; in which case both the father and mother must sign the entry as informants" The Act came into force on 1st January 1875.

Stan

[stanmapstone]

However a child of a marriage cannot be illegitimate. The legal presumption is that a child born to a married woman is a child of her husband, even if that is not actually the case.
Stan

[cynmac]

Thanks for your input Stan.   So the baby would carry the Mother's married name as a matter of course. 
Cynmac

[cynmac]

So  what if the Mother's husband was the bio father,  Could there be a reason he wasn't named on the Birth Cert ??   What if he was working away ?? Could the Mother name her husband as the father or would he have to be present at the registration.
Cynmac

[stanmapstone]

The father only had to be present  if the child was illegitimate.

Stan

[Ermintrude46]

Nowadays there is a separate space for the child's surname, but this wasn't the case back then.  The child would therefore take the surname of the father (if named) or, if no father is named (as in this case), of the mother.  The mother's married name was her legal name at that time and therefore the child's name too, however I wouldn't assume for a moment that means the father would be her husband.  Given that he isn't named, I would strongly suspect that he isn't.
Ermy

[cynmac]

Thanks for both replies.   The Father will now remain a mystery. 
Cynmac

[Sloe Gin]

Where did the certificate come from?  There's always the possibility of clerical error.