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[–]puccagirlblue 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I have kids so have gone through the process.

You go to Misrad Hapnim (the Interior Ministry), there are offices in some of the maternity hospitals so you can do it right away.

You can choose any last name the parents have or a combination of them. You cannot at this point give the child a last name neither parent has. If you want to do that, one or both parents need to change their name beforehand (or alternatively, change it afterwards, but then the kid will have a different name for a while).

[–]Way_too_grad_student 8 points9 points  (0 children)

We don't have middle names. We have second names. They are similar but different, for example, you would never find a second name be a family name (e.g. the mother's maiden name) like you would in the Anglo world. Most commonly, second names are either a) intended to be used together with the first name, more commonly in the religious community, or b) are an homage to dead relatives, or c) don't exist at all.

Surnames are most commonly going to be the father's, whether the parents are married or not, but you can hyphenate. There's also a long tradition of Hebraising your foreign surname as a family.

[–]birdgovorunIsrael 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If the parents are married: most married couples have the same surname, so the child's surname will be the same. If the surnames of the parents are different, the default is the father's, unless both parents agree to give the child the mother's surname, or a combination of both surnames. They cannot choose a different surname beyond those options.

If the parents aren't married the default is the mother's surname, unless the mother wants the child to have the father's surname and the father agrees to it.

[–]Redcole111 11 points12 points  (0 children)

As far as I know, the practice is the same as it is in America. Usually, the child gets the father's surname, but it's at the discretion of the parents. Name hyphenation happens sometimes. I don't know whether parents can simply choose a new surname, but some countries do have restrictions on that, so maybe Israel does, too. I will say that middle names aren't as much of a thing in Israel, but some people give their children middle names.

[–]gal_z 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just inferring from my experience. My mother kept her maiden name, and my surname has both. So, I guess children get their mother's surname, which makes sense, as sometimes there's no known father.

[–]lummie_gIsrael 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you want a different surname for your kids that neither of the parents has, you need to change your own surname in advance. My sister and her husband did that because they wanted a beautiful surname for their family and kids.

[–]mikeber55 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a work in progress…

There’s the old school (traditional) way: married women assume their husband’s name. Their children would also go by the same last name.

Of recent, the same changes like in the rest of the western world are taking place: same sex couples, spouses who keep their last names after getting married, children who go by the mother’s last name. Children who (sometimes later in life) change their last name to the father’s. Or, children who their parent adopts a third last name: “it is beautiful”…