cover news reporter Dai Zhuxin
"Shuowen Jiezi" said: "Surname is what a person is born with." Surnames have always been a symbol that some social groups are paying close attention to. Recently, a Sichuan netizen complained on an online platform that he wanted to change his surname "Xiao" to "Xiao", but was rejected by the administrative agency.
Can the surname uploaded by the ancestor be changed to something else? What explanations are given on the right to name in the Civil Code, known as the "Encyclopedia of Social Life"? Similar to this netizen's request to change "Xiao" to "Xiao", are there any supporting regulations in law? On April 1, reporters invited legal professionals to discuss these issues.
The original family name is Xiao
Legal experts: There is no violation of public order and good customs. You can apply for changes according to the procedures.
The netizen complained online that on March 27 this year, he went to the Qingyang District Government Affairs Center to apply for "correction and restoration of Xiao" but was rejected by the administrative agency. This netizen believes that citizens have the right to their names and the government should support their request.
So, can this citizen change his surname? He Haiyan, a lecturer at Chengdu University Law School and a lawyer at Sichuan Discovery Law Firm, thought it was OK after checking the relevant regulations.
She introduced that according to the "Civil Code", "Natural persons enjoy the right of name and have the right to decide, use, change or permit others to use their names in accordance with the law, but they must not violate public order and good customs." As for the rules for choosing a surname, you can choose to follow your father's name or name. Mother's surname.
However, in the following situations, you can also choose a surname other than that of your parents. This includes choosing the surname of other direct elder blood relatives, choosing the surname of the caregiver because he is being raised by someone other than the legal caregiver, and other legitimate reasons that do not violate public order and good customs. The surnames of natural persons from ethnic minorities can follow the cultural traditions and customs of their own ethnic groups.
"In this incident, the citizen's family's original surname was 'Xiao', but it was mistakenly shortened to 'Xiao', and the surname was restored to Xiao, which means there are 'other legitimate reasons that do not violate public order and good customs.'" He Haiyan said.
Chen Jialiang, a lawyer at Sichuan Discovery Law Firm, also holds the same view. "If this citizen wants to change his surname, it is to dispose of his right to name. He can explain the reasons to the administrative agency in accordance with legal procedures, and then the administrative agency will review it. If there is no violation of legal provisions and public order and good customs, he can follow the legal procedures. Change of name through legal procedures. "
In addition, both lawyers mentioned that according to the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language", traditional Chinese characters and variant characters can be retained or used under the following circumstances, of which Article 2 mentions " Variants in surnames." Therefore, the lawyer believes that this citizen with the surname "Xiao" can change his surname to "Xiao" if he explains his situation without violating public order and good customs.
Irregular simplified surnames
Changes have successful precedents
Reporters searched and found that similar cases of changing surnames have been publicly reported successfully before.
According to a promotional article on the WeChat official account of Fuding Public Security Bureau in Fujian Province, in June 2020, the bureau restored the original "Xiao" surname to "Xiao" for a group of villagers.
According to reports, there are more than a hundred villagers in the Xiao family compound in the local Bailin Town who have always had the surname Xiao throughout history, and historical records such as ancestral halls and genealogies all have "Xiao".
In the 1970s, due to the promotion of simplified Chinese characters, "xiao" was simplified to "xiao", which has influenced today. At the beginning of 2020, the Xiao clan made a request to the local police station, requesting that the surname "Xiao" be restored to "Xiao". After investigating the relevant situation, in May of that year, the first batch of villagers in Bailin Town restored the original "Xiao" surname to "Xiao".
According to a report from "Dahe.com", villagers surnamed Gou in a village in Xingyang, Henan Province previously found a genealogy, which proved that the ancestor of the surname Gou was "Jing". During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, a minister with the surname "Jing" in the Later Jin Dynasty wanted to avoid the emperor. Shi Jingtang's name was taboo, so he reluctantly changed his surname to "Gou" by subtracting "Wen". For this reason, the villagers decided to collectively change their surname. After undergoing strict approval by the police station and the superior public security bureau, the villagers finally succeeded in changing the surname Gou to Jing.
In the "Notice on Matters Related to Handling the Change of Non-standard Simplified Surnames" issued by the Ningde City Public Security Bureau in Fujian Province in 2022, the non-standard surnames were explained: "Lan" is one of the traditional surnames of the She ethnic group. It is an important traditional culture of the She people and an important basis for studying the origins of the She people. After investigation, it was learned that in the early days of liberation, the two characters "blue" and "lan" were used interchangeably... In 1978, the country implemented the "Second Chinese Character Simplification Plan" (abolished in 1986), and "blue" was simplified to "lan". After that, when registering, Some people's "Lan" surname was registered as "Lan", causing confusion where the father's surname was "Lan" and the children's surname was "Lan". There are also issues such as "Fu, Fu", "Xiao, Xiao", "Yan, Yan", "Tong, Tong" and other issues...
In the "Notice on Handling Matters Related to Changes in Unstandardized Simplified Characters and Surnames" issued by Ningde Public Security Bureau in 2022, Attachment description
According to the Civil Code and the Regulations on the Management of Resident Identity Cards of Fujian Province, the Ningde City Public Security Bureau will issue a special notice to facilitate the She people to handle irregular simplified surname changes.
Changing surnames is very serious
Generally speaking, it cannot be changed at will
It is worth noting that some regions have issued supporting documents for changes in surnames that do not standardize simplified characters, but in general, citizens are not allowed to change their names. Serious matters cannot be modified or changed at will.
"Changing your name must follow legal procedures. Regarding the procedure for changing your name, according to my country's "Household Registration Regulations" or other relevant laws and regulations, there are some more specific regulations that cannot be changed casually." He Haiyan cited a few example.
For example, according to the provisions of my country's Household Registration Regulations, if a person over 18 years old needs to change his or her name, he or she must apply for change registration with the household registration authority.
For another example, regarding the issue of the surname of children after divorce, according to the Ministry of Public Security's "Reply on Issues Concerning the Change of Names of Children after the Divorce of Parents", if the divorcing parties have not negotiated or reached an agreement through negotiation and one of the parties requests to change the name of the child, The public security agency may refuse to accept the application; if one party conceals the fact of divorce from the public security agency and obtains a change in the child's name, if the other party requests to restore the child's original name and the divorcing parties fail to reach an agreement, the public security agency shall restore it.
"Our country not only protects the names registered in the household registration authority, but also protects the stage names of netizens." He Haiyan said that the Civil Code stipulates that pen names, stage names, and Internet names that have a certain social reputation and are used by others are enough to cause public confusion. Names, translated names, font sizes, names and abbreviations of names, etc., shall refer to the relevant provisions applicable to the protection of name rights and name rights. "
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